title: Nimodipine, a voltage-sensitive calcium channel antagonist, fails to ameliorate light-induced retinal degeneration in rat.
abstract: A recent study demonstrated the amelioration of light-induced photoreceptor degeneration by flunarizine and suggested that the protective effect achieved by the drug may be due to the inhibition of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-induced calcium release from intracellular stores or the inhibition of calcium entry through putative voltage-sensitive calcium channels. In the current study, we investigated the effect of nimodipine, a specific voltage-sensitive calcium channel blocker, in light-induced retinal degeneration to further define the factors involved in the retinal degenerative process. Morphological, morphometric, and biochemical results demonstrated that nimodipine was ineffective in ameliorating light-induced retinal degeneration, and implied that calcium entry through voltage-sensitive channels is unlikely to be involved in this disease process, and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-induced calcium release from intracellular stores may play a dominant role in light-induced photoreceptor cell damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine 60612.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Edward
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Tso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D009553:Nimodipine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D012160:Retina / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D009553:Nimodipine; D012243:Rhodopsin