PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Thyroid hormones are known to influence various processes of cell differentiation. Recently, it was reported that hypothyroidism reduces the sensitivity to Ca²⁺-channel antagonists in the rat uterus. We examined the sensitivity to dihydropyridines of the uterus from mice that had reduced thyroid hormone levels. Isradipine relaxed with the same potency precontracted uterine muscle strips from control and hypothyroid mice, independently from a pseudo-pregnant state. These results demonstrate that hypothyroidism does not change dihydropyridine sensitivity (i.e., the pattern of Ca²⁺-channel expression) in the murine uterus.Key words: uterus, smooth muscle, Ca²⁺channel, isradipine.