Expression Profiling of Genes Concerning to Protective Effect in Heart by Benidipine Hydrochloride.. Rattus norvegicus

Benidipine hydrochloride is a long-acting calcium channel blocker and is used for the treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris. The cardioprotective effects of benidipine have been shown in several animal and clinical studies. We examined the effect of the dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker (CCB) benidipine on the gene expression profile in heart by DNA microarray. Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats were fed with normal diet (0.19% NaCl) or a high-salt diet (8% NaCl) from 7 weeks of age. Benidipine (4mg/kg) or vehicle (0.5% w/v methylcellulose 400cP) was administered orally after the start of the feeding. DS rats fed the high-salt diet showed an increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP), which was accompanied by the gain of heart weight. SBP was significantly lower in the benidipine group than in the vehicle group. The weight of heart was significantly decreased in the benidipine group. Keywords: Diseased state and drug effect analysis Overall design: Three samples were analyzed, the hearts of rat with normal diet (normal), high-salt diet plus vehicle (control), high-salt diet plus Benidipine (Benidipine). We use 2 arrays: control vs. normal and Benidipine vs. control. Replicates and dye swaps were not performed.