Plant alkaloids, tetrandrine and hernandezine, inhibit calcium-depletion stimulated calcium entry in human and bovine endothelial cells

Depletion of internal Ca2+ stores causes capacitative Ca2+ entry which occurs through non-selective cation channels sensitive to blockade by SK&F 96365. Recently, alkaloids of Chinese herbal medicinal origin, tetrandrine and hernandezine, have been shown to possess actions including inhibition of Ca2+ channels in non-excitable cell types. In this study, we compared the actions of these novel inhibitors to those of SK&F 96365 in fura-2-loaded …