Home › Cell Biology › Two Techniques to Create Hypoparathyroid Mice: Parathyroidectomy Using GFP Glands and Diphtheria-Toxin-Mediated Parathyroid Ablation
Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Two Techniques to Create Hypoparathyroid Mice: Parathyroidectomy Using GFP Glands and Diphtheria-Toxin-Mediated Parathyroid Ablation

DOI: 10.3791/55010-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Perform surgical parathyroidectomy using GFP-labeled glands as visual guides
  • ✓ Induce parathyroid ablation via diphtheria toxin receptor system
  • ✓ Evaluate phenotypic outcomes in two acquired hypoparathyroidism models
  • ✓ Select appropriate technique for hypoparathyroid mouse generation
Protocol

Mice with acquired hypoparathyroidism would be useful for studying novel drug therapies for hypoparathyroidism. Two procedures to create such mice are demonstrated. The GFP-PTX mouse is generated by surgical parathyroidectomy guided by green fluorescing parathyroid glands. A second, non-surgical approach is based on parathyroid-specific expression of the diphtheria toxin receptor.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~2-3 hours per mouse (surgical approach); ~1-2 weeks post-injection (toxin approach)
Model organism
Mouse (transgenic GFP-PTX and diphtheria toxin receptor lines)
Biosafety
BSL-1

Steps

1
Perform surgical parathyroidectomy using GFP glands

Conduct surgical removal of parathyroid glands identified by green fluorescence in GFP-PTX transgenic mice. This direct ablation method creates acquired hypoparathyroidism through tissue excision.

▶ 01:18
2
Induce parathyroid ablation via diphtheria toxin injection

Administer diphtheria toxin to transgenic mice expressing parathyroid-specific diphtheria toxin receptor to trigger cell-autonomous parathyroid ablation. This non-surgical approach eliminates parathyroid function without surgical intervention.

▶ 04:08
3
Characterize phenotypes of hypoparathyroid mouse models

Evaluate and compare physiological and biochemical phenotypes resulting from both parathyroidectomy and toxin-mediated ablation approaches to confirm successful hypoparathyroidism induction.

▶ 04:50
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