Loading Pathway...
Error: Pathway image not found.
Hide
Pathway Description
Felodipine Action Pathway
Homo sapiens
Drug Action Pathway
Felodipine is a medication used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). Untreated hypertension can lead to a heart attack, heart disease or stroke. High sodium intake can contribute to hypertension. Felodipine works by blocking calcium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells, stabilizing these voltage-gated L-type calcium channels, which will stop calcium-dependent myocyte vasoconstriction. This widens the blood vessels, allowing for more blood to pass through, lowering blood pressure. When used to treat angina, felodipine acts through improving the amount of blood pumping to the heart. Hypertension is a very common condition in North America, and can be managed with medication, diet and a healthy lifestyle.
This pathway depicts the pharmacological action of felodipine on arterial smooth muscle cells. Felodipine decreases arterial smooth muscle contractility and subsequent vasoconstriction by inhibiting the influx of calcium ions through L-type calcium channels. Calcium ions entering the cell through these channels bind to calmodulin. Calcium-bound calmodulin then binds to and activates myosin light chain kinase (MLCK). Activated MLCK catalyzes the phosphorylation of the regulatory light chain subunit of myosin, a key step in muscle contraction. Signal amplification is achieved by calcium-induced calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum through ryanodine receptors. Inhibition of the initial influx of calcium decreases the contractile activity of arterial smooth muscle cells and results in vasodilation. The vasodilatory effects of felodipine result in an overall decrease in blood pressure. Felodipine may be used to treat mild to moderate essential hypertension.
.
References
Felodipine Pathway References
Plendil. (2009). e-CPS (online version of Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties). Retrieved August 13, 2009.
Striessnig, J. Ca 2+ channel blockers. In S. Offermanns, & W. Rosenthal (Eds.). Encyclopedic reference of molecular pharmacology (2004) p. 201-207. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Striated Muscle Contraction References
Cooke R: The sliding filament model: 1972-2004. J Gen Physiol. 2004 Jun;123(6):643-56. doi: 10.1085/jgp.200409089.
Pubmed: 15173218
Szent-Gyorgyi A: The mechanism of muscle contraction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Sep;71(9):3343-4.
Pubmed: 4610574
Kuo IY, Ehrlich BE: Signaling in muscle contraction. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2015 Feb 2;7(2):a006023. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a006023.
Pubmed: 25646377
Highlighted elements will appear in red.
Highlight Compounds
Highlight Proteins
Enter relative concentration values (without units). Elements will be highlighted in a color gradient where red = lowest concentration and green = highest concentration. For the best results, view the pathway in Black and White.
Visualize Compound Data
Visualize Protein Data
Downloads
Settings