The main objective of the study, published in Experimental Physiology, is to investigate these T-type calcium channels, which have been relatively little studied in blood vessels, and to determine their role in different vascular beds. The aim is to establish whether their activity contributes to increased blood pressure and, consequently, whether their blockade could provide an antihypertensive treatment.

The researchers observed a predominant role for these channels in the renal artery compared with the aorta. “This finding suggests that different blood vessels may use distinct mechanisms to regulate their tone and their ability to contract or dilate. A better understanding of how these channels function could be key to improving future treatments for hypertension and kidney diseases, as both conditions are linked to alterations in circulation and in calcium regulation within the muscle cells of the arteries”, explains María Dolores Mauricio, who is also coordinator of the Vascular Function Research Group at INCLIVA and a researcher at the Biomedical Research Networking Centre for Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV).

At present, the most extensively studied calcium channel blockers used as antihypertensive agents are L-type channels (L-VGCCs). In small arteries within the kidney, however, not only L-type but also T-type calcium channels are present. Given the importance of the renal system in regulating blood pressure, understanding the role of T-type calcium channels could be highly relevant for the treatment of hypertension.

“As mechanisms may differ from one artery to another, we worked with two different arteries: the aorta and the renal artery. Previous studies had shown that these channels become more active in cases of endothelial dysfunction, that is, when blood vessels lose their ability to relax. If the activation of these channels contributes to vasoconstriction, then their selective blockade could have applications as an antihypertensive treatment. Before focusing on a pathological model such as hypertension, our aim was to understand how these channels function under healthy conditions and in different arteries”, adds Eva Serna, also a researcher in the Ageing and Physical Exercise Research Group at INCLIVA and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre on Frailty and Healthy Ageing (CIBERFES).

Methodology

The study, conducted in arteries from healthy rabbits, highlights that not all blood vessels respond equally to the blockade of T-type calcium channels, adding a level of complexity to the design of drugs targeting them. The results showed that these channels contribute to vasoconstriction and, in the renal artery, also modulate vasodilation. “Controlling hypertension without causing adverse effects is one of the major challenges. If T-type calcium channels play an important role in vessels such as the renal artery, specifically modulating them could improve treatments to protect the kidney”, concludes María Dolores Mauricio.

Although the study was carried out on healthy animals, the findings could serve as a basis for developing new, more specific therapeutic strategies to treat hypertension in humans, with fewer side effects. The research group is currently continuing to study these channels in an experimental model of hypertension, analysing whether the extent of their vascular effects may vary according to sex.

The study was funded by the University of Valencia (UV‐INV‐AE‐1544052) and the Valencian Government (CIAICO 2023-013). The research made use of the infrastructure and equipment of the Department of Physiology at the University of Valencia, the Central Research Unit in Medicine (UCIM) and INCLIVA.

Article reference: Suarez, A., Guerra-Ojeda, S., Zarzoso, M., Serna-García, M., Vila, J. M., Serna, E., & Mauricio, M. D. (2025). Differential contribution of T-type voltage-gated calcium channels to vascular reactivity in the aorta and renal artery of healthy rabbits. Experimental Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP093044