Mineralocorticoid Receptor in Calcium Handling of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

For decades, the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists have been used for the management of cardiovascular diseases; however, the molecular mechanisms involved in their beneficial effects are not fully understood. Recent publications point to the fun - damental role of aldosterone and vascular MR in the regulation of arterial tone, vascular contractility, and cell proliferation. However, the intricate transduction machinery acti - vated by vascular MRs has begun to be revealed with the help of transgenic rodent mod els and novel transcriptional analysis approaches. Specifically, in this chapter, we review and discuss the most recent contributions about the fine-tuning that the MR exerts on the expression and function of ion channels that participate in calcium handling of vascular cells and the therapeutic implications for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.