Cardiovascular research
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Cardiovascular research · Jun 1997
The role of cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases in the cardiac actions of the new calcium sensitizer, levosimendan.
The role of phosphodiesterase III inhibition and calcium sensitization in the cardiac actions of levosimendan, (R)-[[4-(1,4,5, 6-tetrahydro-4-methyl-6-oxo-3-pyridazinyl)phenyl]hydrazono]propane dinitrile, was studied. ⋯ Our results indicate that the cardiac effects of levosimendan at its therapeutically relevant concentrations were not mediated through PKA or PKG and its positive inotropy is therefore most probably due to the previously reported troponin-C-mediated calcium sensitization of contractile proteins.