Platelet calcium pump activity in essential hypertensives and their first-degree relatives

✍ Scribed by S. Gulati; M. Khullar; B. K. Sharma; N. K. Ganguly

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 487 KB
• Volume: 156
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0300-8177
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00239317

✦ Synopsis

Intracellular free Ca2+ concentration has been shown to be elevated in platelets of patients with essential hypertension. This study was designed to characterize Ca(2+)-pump activity of the platelet membranes (surface and intracellular) in these patients A double-blind study was carried out. Untreated and treated (on beta-blockers) essential hypertensives were studied in comparison with normotensive control subjects. First degree blood relatives of essential hypertensives were also studied. The Ca2+ activation kinetics of the enzyme showed a significant decrease in the Vmax (for the plasma- and intracellular membranes) and Km (for the intracellular membranes) in the essential hypertensive patients. Increased platelet membrane cholesterol content was observed in these patients. Lowered Ca2(+)-efflux by Ca2(+)-ATPase may lead to elevated intracellular free Ca2(+)-levels in platelet of essential hypertensives. A lowered Ca2(+) -ATPase activity may emerge as a marker for essential hypertension.