Nifedipine block of capacitative calcium entry in cultured human uterine smooth-muscle cells.

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To determine whether nifedipine inhibits capacitative calcium entry at clinically relevant concentrations using cultured human myocytes as a model for human myometrium. Myocyte cultures were initiated from the myometrium of term pregnant women who underwent cesarean delivery. Paired cells were chosen for study. The cell of interest was stimulated by an intercellular calcium wave from the adjacent cell. In this fashion, release of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium was accomplished with minimal disturbance of the plasma membrane and the subplasmalemmal space (SPS) of the cell studied. Depletion of the SR calcium stores by the calcium wave activated the capacitative calcium current, elevated calcium in the SPS, and activated calcium-activated potassium channels. A cell-attached patch clamp was used to monitor the outward current resulting from the calcium activation of these potassium channels. Calcium green-1 fluorescence was used to simultaneously monitor changes of the deep cytosolic calcium concentrations. Experiments were performed at varying concentrations of nifedipine (0-10 micromol/L). Nifedipine reduced outward potassium currents in a dose-dependent manner. Nifedipine at 100 nmol/L resulted in greater than a 50% reduction of outward current, indicating a significant inhibition of capacitative calcium entry at that concentration. Higher concentrations of nifedipine abolished outward current. Experiments designed to detect indirect effects of nifedipine on capacitative calcium entry were negative. Nifedipine block of capacitative calcium entry occurred at concentrations similar to those required to block L-type voltage-activated calcium channels. These data suggest that block of capacitative calcium entry may be an important mechanism of action when nifedipine is clinically used for tocolysis of preterm labor.