3H]-nitrendipine binding in normal and cardiomyopathic hamster hearts: Modulation by temperature, verapamil and diltiazem

Abstract

The characteristics of high affinity dihydropyridine binding sites were compared in normal and cardiomyopathic hamster hearts to probe for possible defects in the calcium channel which could lead to calcium overload and, in turn, to the muscle necrosis characteristic of cardiomyopathy. Kinetic studies of the temperature dependence of [3H]-nitrendipine binding to ventricular homogenates from 60-day-old normal and cardiomyopathic hamsters showed that, in normal hamsters, the rate of dissociation (0.049 +/- 0.006/min at 25 degrees C) was highly temperature-dependent (Q10 = 4.40 +/- 0.69) and that neither the rate nor the temperature dependence was influenced by disease. The rate of association (1.12 +/- 0.11/min/nM at 25 degrees C) was weakly temperature-dependent (Q10 = 1.25 +/- 0.04) and similarly unaffected by disease. The rate of dissociation of [3H]-nitrendipine was increased by verapamil and decreased by diltiazem with little effect on the association rate. Allosteric interactions of diltiazem and verapamil with the dihydropyridine receptor were identical in normal and cardiomyopathic hearts and, together with the normal temperature sensitivity, show that there is no abnormality at the related binding sites for nitrendipine, verapamil and diltiazem in the calcium channel of the cardiomyopathic heart.