Pharmacologic relevance of dihydropyridine binding sites in membranes from rat aorta: kinetic and equilibrium studies.

The kinetic features of the interaction of dihydropyridines with rat aortic smooth muscle were investigated in parallel mechanical and binding studies. The inhibitory action of (+)-PN200-110 and nisoldipine on contractions evoked by potassium chloride depolarization was characterized by a pronounced time dependency, in which the inhibition increased slowly after depolarization to attain a steady-state value, while with (-)-PN200-110 and (+)-Bay K8644 the inhibition was almost instantaneous. To explain these observations, specific binding sites for dihydropyridines were studied in membranes isolated from rat aorta, using 3H-PN200-110 as a radioligand. We found that the time course of the development of inhibition of potassium chloride-evoked contractions by various concentrations of (+)-PN200-110 paralleled the time course of 3H-PN200-110 binding to isolated membranes and that the level of inhibition was predictable from the level of occupation of these binding sites. These results indicate that depolarization increases the affinity of calcium channels for dihydropyridines in vascular smooth muscle and that the time course of the inhibitory effect on contraction is determined by the time course of association with the high-affinity state of the channel.