Phlebotomine sandfly ecology on the Indian subcontinent: does village vegetation play a role in sandfly distribution in Bihar, India?

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease that results in approximately 50 000 human deaths annually. It is transmitted through the bites of phlebotomine sandflies and around two-thirds of cases occur on the Indian subcontinent. Indoor residual spraying (IRS), the efficacy of which depends upon sandfly adults resting indoors, is the only sandfly control method used in India. Recently, in Bihar, India, considerable sandfly numbers have been recorded outdoors in village vegetation, which suggests that IRS may control only a portion of the population. The purpose of this study was to revisit previously published results that suggested some sandflies to be arboreal and to rest on outlying plants by using Centers for Disease Control light traps to capture sandflies in vegetation, including banana plants and palmyra palm trees, in two previously sampled VL-endemic Bihari villages. Over 3500 sandflies were trapped in vegetation over 12 weeks. The results showed the mean number of sandflies collected per trap night were significantly higher in banana trees than in other vegetation (P = 0.0141) and in female rather than male palmyra palm trees (P = 0.0002). The results raise questions regarding sandfly dispersal, oviposition and feeding behaviours, and suggest a need to refine current control practices in India and to take into account an evolving understanding of sandfly ecology.

Pharmacologic and radioligand binding analysis of the actions of 1,4-dihydropyridine activators related to Bay K 8644 in smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and neuronal preparations.

The structure-activity relationships of a series of 1,4-dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel activators, including Bay K 8644, have been determined by pharmacologic and radioligand binding techniques. Pharmacologic techniques included tension responses and the measurement of pA2 values for nifedipine antagonism of Bay K 8644 responses in guinea pig ileal, rat femoral and rat atrial and papillary muscle preparations. Radioligand binding experiments employed competition against [3H]nitrendipine binding in ileal smooth muscle and rat ventricular membranes and rat brain synaptosomal preparations. The series of compounds was employed as the racemates. Binding affinities were not significantly different between smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and brain preparations and the same rank order of pharmacologic activities is observed in smooth and cardiac muscle, where the effects of the 4-phenyl substituents, o greater than or equal to m greater than p, parallel those observed for 1,4-dihydropyridine antagonists. In the ileal and femoral artery smooth muscle preparations a 1:1 correlation is observed between pharmacologic and radioligand binding affinities. However, in the cardiac muscle preparations, left atrium and papillary muscle, there is an approximately 10-fold difference between the binding affinities and the lower pharmacologic affinities. A similar difference between smooth and cardiac muscle is observed with the pA2 values of 6.97 and 7.06 in atrial and papillary muscle respectively, which are significantly lower than the values of 8.54 and 8.72 measured in ileal and femoral artery respectively. The structure-activity expressions measured for this small series of 1,4-dihydropyridine activators parallel those observed in the larger series of 1,4-dihydropyridine antagonists. This is consistent with proposals that activators and antagonists interact at common binding sites that are components of a voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel.

The optical isomers of the 1,4-dihydropyridine BAY K 8644 show opposite effects on Ca channels.

The optical isomers of the 1,4-dihydropyridine BAY K 8644 were studied in isolated rabbit aorta and heart preparations. The (-)-enantiomer has the known vasoconstricting and positive inotropic properties of the Ca agonistic compound. In contrast, its antipode shows at about 10-50 times higher concentrations the vasodilating and negative inotropic effects of Ca antagonistic drugs. It is concluded that neither simple chemical nor physical actions can be responsible for the opposite effects of Ca antagonistic and Ca agonistic dihydropyridines.

Calcium agonism, a new mechanism for positive inotropy. Hemodynamic effects and mode of action of BAY K 8644.

BAY K 8644 [methyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-3-nitro-4-(2-trifluoromethyl -phenyl)-pyridine-5-carboxylate] is a nifedipine-like 1,4-dihydropyridine (DHP). In contrast to the well-known calcium antagonistic DHPs, it has vasoconstricting and positive inotropic properties. In the pentobarbital-anesthetized dog, it increases blood pressure, peripheral resistance, and left ventricular (dP/dt)max dose-dependently from 3 to 100 micrograms/kg i.v. If the vagus is blocked, heart rate is unchanged. In the isolated isovolumic perfused guinea pig heart, BAY K 8644 has positive inotropic and coronary constricting actions from 10(-9) mole/liter. At 10 times higher concentrations, this compound also increases the heart rate up to 20%. BAY K 8644 has no effect on rabbit aortic strip at physiological K+ concentrations, but potentiates the K+ -induced contraction of the strip. In the partially depolarized aortic strip (18 mM K+), BAY K 8644 induces concentration-dependent contractions, which are competitively inhibited by the calcium-antagonistic DHP nifedipine. Chemically different calcium antagonists such as verapamil or diltiazem inhibit the BAY-K-8644-induced contractions noncompetitively. These results indicate that a specific DHP receptor exists, which binds nifedipine and BAY K 8644. In contrast to the calcium-antagonistic DHPs like nifedipine, BAY K 8644 increases the calcium influx into the cell.

Novel dihydropyridines with positive inotropic action through activation of Ca2+ channels.

Transmembrane influx of extracellular calcium through specific calcium channels is now accepted to have an important role in the excitation-contraction coupling of cardiac and smooth muscle. The importance of such slow calcium channels has been underlined by the development of specific calcium channel blocking agents, the 'calcium antagonists', typified by verapamil, nifedipine and diltiazem. These drugs have been used to investigate the properties of slow calcium channels in a variety of tissues. We have found that small modifications to the nifedipine molecule produce other dihydropyridine derivatives (see Fig. 1) with effects diametrically opposite to those of the calcium antagonists: cardiac contractility is stimulated and smooth muscle is contracted. These effects are competitively antagonized by nifedipine. Apparently, nifedipine and the novel compounds bind to the same specific dihydropyridine binding sites in or near the calcium channel. In contrast to nifedipine, however, the new compounds promote--instead of inhibiting--the influx of Ca2+ ions. We report here the properties of BAY K 8644 (methyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-3-nitro-4-(2-trifluoromethylphenyl)- pyridine-5-carboxylate), one of the most potent of these novel compounds.

Activation of calcium channels by novel 1,4-dihydropyridines. A new mechanism for positive inotropics or smooth muscle stimulants.

The effects of the novel, 1,4-dihydropyridine derivative methyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-3-nitro-4-(2-trifluoromethylphenyl) -pyridine-5-carboxylate (Bay k 8644) are reported. In contrast to the nifedipine-like dihydropyridines, which have calcium antagonistic actions. Bay k 8644 has positive inotropic and vasoconstrictor effects. The effects and mechanism of action of Bay k 8644 have been examined in the anaesthetised dog, on the isolated perfused guinea-pig heart, and on the isolated rabbit aortic strip. In these preparations Bay k 8644 is active in the same dose range as nifedipine, but has effects diametrically opposite to those of nifedipine. There is a competitive antagonism between Bay k 8644 and nifedipine, whereas verapamil and diltiazem produce only a functional, non-competitive inhibition of the effects of Bay k 8644. We conclude that a specific dihydropyridine receptor exists, which may bind both nifedipine and Bay k 8644. In contrast to nifedipine Bay k 8644 stimulates the calcium influx into the cell.