OBJECTIVE The aim was to analyze the early postnatal changes in myocardial density, subsarcolemmal localization and isoform expression of dihydropyridine receptors in rat ventricle and the influence of thyroid status on these changes. METHODS Newborn rats were treated from postnatal day 2 with L-triiodothyronine (T3) or 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil )PTU) and ventricles were collected on day 1, 7 a...

In smooth muscle, the gating of dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca(2+) channels may either be stochastic and voltage dependent or coordinated among channels and constitutively active. Each form of gating has been proposed to be largely responsible for Ca(2+) influx and determining the bulk average cytoplasmic Ca(2+) concentration. Here, the contribution of voltage-dependent and constitutively active ...

Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease are neglected parasitic diseases endemic in developing countries; efforts to find new therapies remain a priority. Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are drugs in clinical use for hypertension and other heart pathologies. Based on previous reports about the antileishmanial activity of dihydropyridine-CCBs, this work aimed to investigate whether the in vitro anti-Le...

A pharmacologically active agent was easily extracted by aqueous or organic solvents from laboratory plastic tubes (Falcon Blue Max) and has been chemically identified as bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate. This compound (approximately 12 micrograms per tube approximately 25 nmol) blocked 1,4-dihydropyridine-sensitive 45Ca2+ uptake into GH3 cells with an IC50 value of 3.6 microM, inh...

5-Arylisoxazolyl-3-carboxaldehydes were condensed with N-aryl acetoaceta¬mide and ammonium acetate in methanol to give N3,N5-diaryl-4-(5-arylisoxazol-3-yl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxamides. All compounds were screened for their antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv). The results for new synthesized compounds showed a moderate activity in comparison to rifampicin.

Each of the four repeats (or motifs) of voltage-gated ion channels is thought to contain six transmembrane segments (S1-S6). Mutational analyses indicate that S4 functions as a voltage sensor and that the S5, S6, and S5-S6 linker contribute to formation of the ion pore. However, little information exists regarding the functional role(s) of the amino-terminal portion (S1-S3-S4 linker) of the rep...