The present experiments using primary cultures from renal proximal tubule cells examine two aspects of the regulation of sodium-dependent phosphate transport and membrane sodium-dependent phosphate transporter (Npt2a) expression by parathyroid hormone (PTH). Sodium-dependent phosphate transport in proximal tubule cells from wild-type mice grown in normal-phosphate media averaged 4.4 ± 0.5 nmol·mg protein⁻¹·10 min⁻¹ and was inhibited by 30.5 ± 8.6% by PTH (10⁻⁷ M). This was associated with a 32.7 ± 5.2% decrease in Npt2a expression in the plasma membrane. Proximal tubule cells from Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger regulatory factor-1 (NHERF-1)^−/− mice had a lower rate of phosphate transport compared with wild-type cells and a significantly reduced inhibitory response to PTH. Wild-type cells incubated in low-phosphate media for 24 h had a higher rate of phosphate transport compared with wild-type cells grown in normal-phosphate media but a significantly blunted inhibitory response to PTH. These data indicate a role for NHERF-1 in mediating the membrane retrieval of Npt2a and the subsequent inhibition of phosphate transport in renal proximal tubules. These studies also suggest that there is a blunted phosphaturic effect of PTH in cells adapted to low-phosphate media.