title: Vascular smooth muscle cell migration, atherosclerosis, and calcium channel blockers.
abstract: Calcium channel blockers have been studied widely for their potential ability to retard or even reverse atherosclerosis. Several potential cellular mechanisms have been proposed, including interactions with vascular smooth muscle cells: migration, inhibition of proliferation, or both. This paper reviews some of the signaling events involved in smooth muscle cell migration, including changes in intracellular calcium, and the inhibition of cell migration by calcium channel blockers. Finally, there is a discussion of preliminary experiments on human vascular smooth muscle cell migration using amlodipine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Imperial College School of Medicine at St. Mary's, London, UK. m.schachter@ic.ac.uk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schachter
mesh_terms: D017311:Amlodipine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D017311:Amlodipine; D004247:DNA; D002118:Calcium