© 1998 by European Society of Cardiology
Copyright © 1998, European Society of Cardiology
Cardiovascular steroid actions: swift swallows or sluggish snails?
Institut für Klinische Pharmakologie, Klinikum Mannheim, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, D-68135 Mannheim, Germany
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-621-3834058; Fax: +49-621-3832024; E-mail: wehling@medinn.med.uni-muenchen.de
Steroid actions on the vascular wall have been thought to depend on direct, genomic mechanisms being characterized by a considerable delay and on secondary events, including changes of coagulation, plasma lipids, and renal electrolyte and volume regulation. Recently, rapid effects of steroids on the vascular wall have been reported being clearly incompatible with the classical theory of genomic steroid action. As these effects occur in classical target tissues for genomic steroid action, and modulation of intracellular signaling has been shown to influence genomic steroid action, a two-step model of steroid action was developed integrating both genomic and nongenomic aspects and their possible interaction. This review summarizes recent studies on both types of direct, vascular steroid actions, the swift and the sluggish ones, and discusses the role of these actions in regulation of circulatory homeostasis and their potential therapeutic implications.
KEYWORDS Hormones; Receptors; Vasoconstriction/dilation