L-type calcium channels and psychiatric disorders: A brief review.

Abstract

Emerging evidence from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) support the association of polymorphisms in the alpha 1C subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel gene (CACNA1C) with bipolar disorder. These studies extend a rich prior literature implicating dysfunction of L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Moreover, calcium channel blockers reduce Ca(2+) flux by binding to the α1 subunit of the LTCC and are used extensively for treating hypertension, preventing angina, cardiac arrhythmias and stroke. Calcium channel blockers have also been studied clinically in psychiatric conditions such as mood disorders and substance abuse/dependence, yielding conflicting results. In this review, we begin with a summary of LTCC pharmacology. For each category of disorder, this article then provides a review of animal and human data. In particular, we extensively focus on animal models of depression and clinical trials in mood disorders and substance abuse/dependence. Through examining rationale and study design of published clinical trials, we provide some of the possible reasons why we still do not have definitive evidence of efficacy of calcium-channel antagonists for mood disorders. Refinement of genetic results and target phenotypes, enrollment of adequate sample sizes in clinical trials and progress in physiologic and pharmacologic studies to synthesize tissue and isoform specific calcium channel antagonists, are all future challenges of research in this promising field. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

• Authors: Francesco Casamassima, Aleena C Hay, Alessandra Benedetti, Lorenzo Lattanzi, Giovanni B Cassano, Roy H Perlis
• Journal: American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics (Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet) Vol. 153B Issue 8 Pg. 1373-90 (Dec 05 2010) ISSN: 1552-485X [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 20886543 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Chemical References

• Calcium Channel Blockers
• Calcium Channels, L-Type
• Calcium

Topics

• Animals
• Calcium (metabolism)
• Calcium Channel Blockers (metabolism, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Calcium Channels, L-Type (genetics, physiology)
• Central Nervous System (metabolism)
• Clinical Trials as Topic
• Female
• Genome-Wide Association Study
• Humans
• Male
• Mental Disorders (chemically induced, drug therapy, genetics, physiopathology)
• Neurodegenerative Diseases (drug therapy)
• Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
• Substance Withdrawal Syndrome (drug therapy)