Influence of nifedipine on the metabolism of gingival fibroblasts.

Calcium antagonists are the gold standard in the therapy of coronary heart disease and hypertension. The prototype of these drugs is nifedipine which, as well as its therapeutic effects on the cells of the cardiovascular system, also has unpleasant side effects on other organ systems. One side effect can be a missive hyperplasia of the gingiva, the reason for which are unclear. In vitro experiments were designed to elucidate the influence of nifedipine on the growth of human gingival fibroblasts in short and long term (72 hours, 6 weeks) cell culture. The following cellular parameters were determined quantitatively: cell proliferation (cell count, [3H]thymidine incorporation), protein synth…