title: Pleiotropic effects of nifedipine on atherosclerosis.
abstract: Impaired endothelial cell (EC) growth and function have been proposed to be an initial event that leads to the development of atherosclerosis. There is a growing body of evidence that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory-fibroproliferative disease, and ECs are target for cytokines and growth factors released during inflammation. Recently, nifedipine, one of the most widely used dihydropyridine-based calcium antagonists (DHPs) for treatments of patients with hypertension, was shown to inhibit vascular inflammation and subsequently improve endothelial function in many cardiovascular diseases, thus slowing the development and progression of atherosclerosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this are not fully understood, because ECs do not possess voltage-operated L-type calcium channels. In this review, we discuss the pleiotropic effects of nifedipine on atherosclerosis, especially focusing on its anti-oxidative properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Radioisotope Institute for Basic and Clinical Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan. shoichi@med.kurume-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Sho-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takenaka
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Hiroyoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000067759:Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D000067759:Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D009543:Nifedipine