INFLUENCE OF NIFEDIPINE ON THE METABOLISM OF GINGIVAL FIBROBLASTS

Calcium antagonists are the gold standard in the therapy of coronary h eart disease and hypertension. The prototype of these drugs is nifedip ine which, as well as its therapeutic effects on the cells of the card iovascular system, also has unpleasant side effects on other organ sys tems. One side effect can be a missive hyperplasia of the gingiva, the reason for which are unclear. In vitro experiments were designed to e lucidate the influence of nifedipine on the growth of human gingival f ibroblasts in short and long term (72 hours, 6 weeks) cell culture. Th e following cellular parameters were determined quantitatively: cell p roliferation (cell count, [H-3]thymidine incorporation), protein synth esis ([H-3]glucosamine incorporation) and viability (release of lactat e dehydrogenase). A significant increase in cell proliferation (up to 1 mu g/ml nifedipine) was observed in the short-term experiments (72 h ours, 0.001-10 mu g/ml nifedipine), no other parameters were altered o r were even depressed at higher concentrations. A significant increase in the cell proliferation and a decrease in the proteoglycan synthesi s was found in the long term experiments (6 weeks, 1 mu g/ml nifedipin e). Our results indicate that nifedipine has a direct effect on the ce ll proliferation of the gingival fibroblast in cell culture. The effec t of nifedipine on the gingival fibroblasts are therefore similar to t hose observed earlier by the widely used immunosuppressant drug cyclos porin A on human gingival fibroblast in culture.