Effects of calcium blockers on the cytosolic calcium, H2O2 production and elastase release in human neutrophils

Activated neutrophils are assumed to be one plausible cause of tissue injury in the ischaemic and reperfused myocardium. We studied the inhibitory effects of the calcium antagonists felodipine, nimodipine and verapamil on human neutrophil activation in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying their myocardioprotective effects and to determine whether calcium antagonists with different chemical structures vary in their effect on neutrophil activation. Neutrophils were stimulated with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (0.1 mu M) or by phorbol myristate acetate (0.16 mu M), and the rise in cytosolic calcium and the H2O2 production were determined. For felodipine, the inhibitory effect on granulocyte elastase release was also studied. The calcium antagonists reduced formyl-Met-Leu-Phe and phorbol myristate acetate-induced neutrophil activation in a concentration-dependent manner, the order of potency being: felodipine >nimodipine >verapamil. For felodipine, the IC50 (concentration causing 50% reduction) values were 3X10(-6) and 2X10(-6) M for the formyl-Met-Leu-Phe-induced cytosolic calcium increase and H2O2 production, respectively. The IC50-value for the phorbol myristate acetate-induced cytosolic calcium increase was 6X10(-6) and for H2O2 production 1X10(-6) M. For formyl-Met-Leu-Phe-induced granulocyte elastase release, the IC50-value was 5X10(-6) M. The inhibitory effect of felodipine on the phorbol myristate acetate-induced granulocyte elastase release did not exceed 50%. Nimodipine was a less potent inhibitor than felodipine for both formyl-Met-Leu-Phe- and phorbol myristate acetate-induced cell activities. Verapamil was even less potent than the other two agents. The present study demonstrates that felodipine potentially suppresses neutrophil activation at micromolar concentrations. However, this observation should not be directly extrapolated to explain the tissue protection by the compounds without evidence of profound local accumulation.