Nifedipine inhibits accumulation of LDL and cholesterol in the aorta of the normocholesterolemic rabbit.

The effect of 5 days of oral nifedipine treatment (approximately 1 mg/kg per day in drinking water) on low density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol accumulation in rabbit arteries was determined. Compared with control aortas, nifedipine treatment (n = 5) significantly reduced homologous 125I-tyramine cellobiose-LDL accumulation (control versus nifedipine: 45.93 +/- 4.3 versus 20.14 +/- 3.1 ng LDL per milligram dry weight x10(-3), p = 0.001) while the reduction of human LDL accumulation (n = 5) was not significant (49.1 +/- 6.1 versus 35.5 +/- 4.1 ng LDL per milligram dry weight x10(-3)). Aortic accumulation of orally administered [3H]cholesterol was also inhibited by nifedipine (352 +/- 34 versus 257 +/- 16 ng cholesterol per milligram dry weight x10(-3), n = 10, p = 0.022). These findings suggest a possible mechanism for the antiatherosclerotic effect of nifedipine.