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Calcium channels in vitamin B6 deficiency-induced hypertension
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Objective:
To compare the acute hypotensive effects of various calcium channel modulators in vitamin B6-deficient hypertensive (B6DHT) rats.
Methods:
Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a vitamin B6-deficient diet for 7-10 weeks, during which systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured in the B6DHT and control rats, using tail-cuff plethysmography. The effects of the calcium antagonists nifedipine, verapamil, diltiazem and (-)-202-791 on SBP were determined in conscious B6DHT rats. The effect of the calcium agonist BAY K 8644 on the SBP of rats fed various levels of pyridoxine was also determined.
Results:
All of the calcium antagonists used were effective in lowering the SBP of the B6DHT rats with the rank order of potency: nifedipine > (-)-202-791 > (+/-)-verapamil > diltiazem. BAY K 8644 elevated the SBP of older rats fed a normal commercially available diet, but had no effect when the vitamin B6 content of their diet was increased or removed for a short period.
Conclusion:
Calcium channel function appears to be related to vitamin B6 status in the rat.
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