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Calcitonin

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 13 Accesses

Synonyms

Calcitonin; CALC1; CT; Thyrocalcitonin (historical name)

Definition

Calcitonin (CT) is a peptide hormone consisting of 32 amino acids with a molecular weight of 3.45 kilo Daltons (kD) (Felsenfeld and Levine 2015; Findlay et al. 2015). It was discovered in 1962, and its name is derived from its role in maintaining a “normal calcium tone.” The prehormone (preprocalcitonin: 136 amino acids) is encoded by the CALC1 (CALCA) gene located on chromosome 11p15.2. Proteolytic cleavage of the precursor leads to the generation of procalcitonin (116 amino acids) and calcitonin. Mature calcitonin is generated through amidation and glycosylation before it is secreted. The structure of calcitonin consists of a single alpha helix.

Calcitonin is expressed predominantly by the parafollicular C cells of the thyroid gland (Fig. 1). The C cells originate from the ultimobranchial bodies which fuse with the thyroid. The distribution of C cells in the thyroid varies among mammalian species, and in...

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References and Further Reading

  • Cleland, D. A., & Eranki, A. P. (2020). Procalcitonin. Treasure Island: StatPearls.

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  • Felsenfeld, A. J., & Levine, B. S. (2015). Calcitonin, the forgotten hormone: Does it deserve to be forgotten? Clinical Kidney Journal, 8(2), 180–187.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, D., Sexton, P., & Martin, T. (2015). Calcitonin. In J. Jameson & L. DeGroot (Eds.), Endocrinology (7th ed., pp. 1004–1017). Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.

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  • Wells, S. A., Jr., Asa, S. L., Dralle, H., Elisei, R., Evans, D. B., Gagel, R. F., American Thyroid Association Guidelines Task Force on Medullary Thyroid, C, et al. (2015). Revised American Thyroid Association guidelines for the management of medullary thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid, 25(6), 567–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University Hospital, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Peter Kopp

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  1. Peter Kopp
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Correspondence to Peter Kopp .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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Kopp, P. (2022). Calcitonin. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5164-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5164-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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