RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Cardamonin Is a Bifunctional Vasodilator that Inhibits Cav1.2 Current and Stimulates KCa1.1 Current in Rat Tail Artery Myocytes JF Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics JO J Pharmacol Exp Ther FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP 531 OP 540 DO 10.1124/jpet.109.161265 VO 332 IS 2 A1 Fabio Fusi A1 Maurizio Cavalli A1 Dulcie Mulholland A1 Neil Crouch A1 Phil Coombes A1 Gill Dawson A1 Sergio Bova A1 Giampietro Sgaragli A1 Simona Saponara YR 2010 UL http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/332/2/531.abstract AB An in-depth analysis of the effects of cardamonin, 2′,4′-dihydroxy-6′-methoxychalcone, on rat tail artery preparations was performed by means of whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of Cav1.2 Ca2+ [ICa(L)] or Ba2+ [IBa(L)] current as well as KCa1.1 currents in single myocytes and by measuring contractile responses in endothelium-denuded isolated rings. At a holding potential (Vh) of −80 mV, cardamonin decreased both IBa(L) and ICa(L) in a concentration-dependent manner with similar pIC50 values. The maximum of the IBa(L)-voltage relationship was shifted by 10 mV in the hyperpolarizing direction, but threshold remained unaffected. Cardamonin modified both the activation and the inactivation kinetics of IBa(L) and shifted the voltage dependence of both inactivation and activation curves to more negative potentials by 19 and 7 mV, respectively, thus markedly decreasing the Ba2+ window current. Block of IBa(L) was frequency-dependent, and rate of recovery from inactivation was slowed. Cardamonin increased KCa1.1 currents in a concentration-dependent manner; this stimulation was iberiotoxin- and BAPTA [1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid]-sensitive. On the contrary, iberiotoxin did not modify cardamonin-induced relaxation of rings precontracted either with phenylephrine or with (S)-(−)-methyl-1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-3-nitro-4-(2-trifluoromethylphenyl)pyridine-5-carboxylate [(S)-(−)-Bay K 8644]. The overall effects of cardamonin were incompletely reversed by washout. In conclusion, cardamonin is a naturally occurring, bifunctional vasodilator that, by simultaneously inhibiting ICa(L) and stimulating KCa1.1 current, may represent a scaffold for the design of novel drugs of potential interest for treatment of systemic hypertension. Copyright © 2010 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics