Dexamethasone increases the amplitude of L-type calcium currents in A7r5 smooth muscle cells, suggesting an increase in the number of active channels.
May alter vascular calcium handling in animal models; hypothesis-generating and requires human validation before clinical consideration.
Patch clamp experiments were used to characterize the effect of dexamethasone on calcium currents in A7r5 cells. Pretreatment for 48 h with 200 nM dexamethasone did not affect the single channel conductance, the voltage dependence of channel opening, or the voltage-dependent inactivation of L-type channels. However, dexamethasone caused an approximately 2-fold increase in the amplitude of L-type calcium currents in 5 out of 9 experiments, suggesting an increase in the number of active channels. The effect of dexamethasone appeared to be greatest on batches of cells with low control current density. The amplitude of T-type calcium current was not affected by dexamethasone.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Obejero‐Paz et al. (1993) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: