Interaction of dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) with angiotensin II on calcium mobilization in vascular smooth muscle cells

Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) was shown to lower blood pressure in rat models of arterial hypertension. Thus, there is evidence that—besides its chelating properties—DMSA has a direct vascular effect, e.g. through scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We speculated that, in addition, intracellular calcium mobilization may be involved in this action. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of DMSA on Ca 2+ mobilization in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from rat aorta. Intracellular free Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+] i) was measured with fura-2 AM. In a first series of experiments DMSA, 10 −11 to 10 −6 M, induced an immediate dose-dependent up to 4-fold rise of [Ca 2+] i ( P