Yasuo Mori (1,2,*), Gabor Mikala (1), Gyula Varadi (1), Tsutomu Kobayashi (1,3), Sheryl Koch (1), Minoru Wakamori (1,2) and Arnold Schwartz (1)
(1) Institute of Molecular Pharmacology and Biophysics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0828, U.S.A. (2) Department of Information Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444, Japan (3) Pharmacological Research Laboratories, Tanabe Seiyaku Co., Ltd., Toda, Saitama 335, Japan (*) To whom correspondence should be addressed (1).
Abstract: Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels serve as the only link to transduce membrane depolarization into cellular Ca2+-dependent reactions. A wide variety of chemical substances that have the ability to modulate Ca2+ channels have been demonstrated both for their clinic utility and for importance in elucidating the molecular basis of various biological responses. Recently, introduction of molecular biology to pharmacology has brought a great deal of information about the molecular basis of drug action in Ca2+ channels. In this review, we attempt to overview recent progress in understanding the interactions between Ca2+ channels and their blockers, namely Ca2+ antagonists, from a molecular and structural point of view.
Keywords:
Ca2+ channel, Ca2+ antagonist, Peptide toxin, Inorganic blocker