Paricalcitol

Paricalcitol is a selective vitamin D receptor agonist and a vitamin D analog. Paricalcitol potently inhibits the synthesis and secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and is commonly used in studies of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were pretreated with different concentrations of Paricalcitol (50–500 nM) for 24 hours. The medium was then replaced and 100 µM H₂O₂ was added for 3 hours. Cell viability was assessed using the MTT assay.
Results: At a concentration of 500 nM, post-injury treatment with Paricalcitol significantly increased cell viability.[1]

Methods: To validate the role of Paricalcitol in CPPD-induced acute kidney injury (AKI), a single intraperitoneal dose of Paricalcitol (0.3 μg/kg) was administered to C57BL/6 mice. Three days later, CPPD (20 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to induce infectious AKI.
Results: Paricalcitol pretreatment significantly elevated levels of GSH, SOD, GPX4, CAT, and T-AOC, enhancing renal antioxidant defense. [2]
Methods: To investigate the effects of Paricalcitol on intimal hyperplasia and stenosis, female Wistar Kyoto rats underwent femoral artery wire-induced endarterectomy (left side) with right-side sham surgery as control. Intraperitoneal administration of Paricalcitol (750 ng/kg) commenced immediately postoperatively, administered every other day for 2 weeks.
Results: The Paricalcitol group showed a trend toward reduced intima-media ratio (0.17) and stenosis rate (28.3%), though neither reached statistical significance. [3]
Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent four-vessel occlusion (10 min) to establish a global cerebral ischemia model. Paricalcitol (1 μg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally at 5 min, 1 day, 2 days, and 3 days post-ischemia, with observation continuing until day 4 post-ischemia.
Results: The 4-day survival rate was 100% (8/8) in the Paricalcitol group and 62.5% (5/8) in the control group. [4]

After TAC or sham surgery, a subset of the mice is treated with paricalcitol which activates the VDR, at a final dose of 300 ng/kg/day. Paricalcitol is dissolved in a 95% propylene glycol and 5% ethyl alcohol solution. Mice were intraperitoneally injected with paricalcitol (or vehicle only) three times per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for five consecutive weeks. An established anti-hypertrophic and anti-fibrotic treatment, namely the angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) losartan is also included. Previous experiments have shown it is feasible and efficacious to dissolve losartan in the drinking water at a concentration of 30 mg/kg/day; mice are treated for five consecutive weeks. So, in total eight groups are studied. Sham (n=10), TAC (n=10), Sham + losartan (Sham-los, n=10), TAC + losartan (TAC-los, n=10), Sham + paricalcitol (Sham-pari, n=10), TAC + paricalcitol (TAC-pari, n=10), Sham + paricalcitol + losartan (Sham-combi, n=10) and TAC + paricalcitol + losartan (TAC-combi, n=10) [2].

H2O: Insoluble

Ethanol: 12 mg/mL (28.8 mM), Sonication is recommended.

DMSO: 140 mg/mL (336.02 mM), Sonication is recommended.

10% DMSO+90% Corn Oil: 3.3 mg/mL (7.92 mM), Sonication is recommended.