is there a role for calcium channel blockers in atheroprotection?
It is well known that the atherogenic dyslipidemias of either elevated serum LDL or reduced HDL levels correlate with the degree and severity of atherosclerosis. However, how this leads to atherogenesis is poorly understood. A role for cellular oxidative stress mediated by oxidized LDL has gained widespread acceptance, but this pathway is unlikely to be the sole atherogenic signal. Recent evidence obtained from arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC) and endothelial cells (EC) is consistent with another pathway that may explain, in part, the early alterations contributing to the initiation of cellular atherogenic modifications. This pathway involves enrichment of the cell plasma membrane with cholesterol. In SMC, in vitro (cell culture) and in vivo (cholesterol feeding) experiments demonstrate that cholesterol enrichment of the SMC membrane occurs rapidly and is associated with an increase in membrane bilayer width, calcium permeability, and cell proliferation. Removal of excess membrane ch
