Increased calcium and decreased magnesium concentrations and an increased calcium/magnesium ratio in spontaneously hypertensive rats versus Wistar-Kyoto rats: relation to arteriosclerosis.

Alterations in the metabolism of calcium and magnesium have been implicated in the pathogenesis of primary hypertension. Calcium influx across the external cellular membrane in smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes plays a crucial role in the control of cellular excitation contraction and impulse propagation. Intracellular calcium and magnesium concentrations are controlled by reversible binding to specific calcium-binding proteins.

Decreased Intracellular Phosphate and Magnesium Concentrations in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

A decrease in total magnesium content is not a direct proof of a decreased magnesium ion concentration. It could reflect a phosphate alteration or an ATP metabolism disorder. Plasma phosphate levels are lower in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) than in Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), and defects in membrane regulation or mitochondrial ATP synthase occur.