title: [Amlodipine and the mechanisms of vascular hypertrophy].
abstract: In several cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis and restenosis, an uncontrolled proliferation of smooth muscle cells from the arterial wall participates in the vascular hypertrophy that is often observed to be associated with these diseases. In this article, the mechanisms of smooth muscle cell activation and proliferation are briefly reviewed, focusing on the predominant role played by Ca2+ ions and the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in cellular Ca2+ homeostasis. In addition, the major alterations in pathways involved in smooth muscle cell activation and proliferation that have been observed in the cardiovascular diseases under discussion are reviewed. The effects of amlodipine on the molecular/cellular pathways discussed above are then presented. Finally, we discuss recent experimental results obtained with amlodipine, which make it an excellent candidate for the treatment of those cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Département de Pharmacologie, CNRS, Paris, France. marche@necker.fr
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marche
mesh_terms: D017311:Amlodipine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000473:pathology; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D017311:Amlodipine