Growth factors and cardiovascular structure. Implications for calcium antagonist therapy

Abnormalities of cellular growth regulation are integral to the development of cardiovascular disorders such as atherogenesis, ventricular hypertrophy, and diabetic glomerulopathy. Moreover, cellular growth is in large measure controlled by peptide and nonpeptide growth factors that mediate their actions, in part, through the transcriptional regulation of normal cellular genes called protooncogenes. Because angiotensin II is one such growth regulatory factor and because changes in intracellular calcium are intimately involved in the action of angiotensin and other growth factors, it is likely that inhibitors of angiotensin action and calcium-channel-blocking agents will be found to have useful growth regulatory properties.