Does nimodipine, a selective calcium channel blocker, impair chondrocyte proliferation or damage extracellular matrix structures?


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Kaplan N., Yilmaz I., Karaarslan N., Kaya Y. E., Sirin D. Y., Ozbek H.

Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, vol.20, no.6, pp.517-524, 2019 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 20 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2019
  • Doi Number: 10.2174/1389201020666190506124548
  • Journal Name: Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.517-524
  • Keywords: Chondroadherin, chondrocyte, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha, nimodipine, type II collagen, matrix structures
  • Istanbul Medipol University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: The study aimed to investigate the effects of the active ingredient, nimodipine, on chondrocyte proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) structures in cartilage tissue cells. Methods: Chondrocyte cultures were prepared from tissues resected via surgical operations. Nimodipine was then applied to these cultures and molecular analysis was performed. The data obtained were statistically calculated. Results: Both, the results of the (3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) assay and the fluorescence microscope analysis [a membrane permeability test carried out with acridine orange/propidium iodide staining (AO/PI)] confirmed that the active ingredient, nimodipine, negatively affects the cell cultures. Conclusion: Nimodipine was reported to suppress cellular proliferation; chondroadherin (CHAD) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) expression thus decreased by 2.4 and 1.7 times, respectively, at 24 hrs when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, type II collagen (COL2A1) expression was not detected (p < 0.05). The risk that a drug prescribed by a clinician in an innocuous manner to treat a patient by relieving the symptoms of a disease may affect the proliferation, differentiation, and viability of other cells and/or tissues at the molecular level, beyond its known side effects or adverse events, should not be forgotten.