Leandro Bueno Bergantin | Editor
Affilation: Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil
Dr. Bergantin received his academic education at EPM-UNIFESP (Brazil) and UAM (Spain):
degree in biomedicine (2008), MSc (2010) and PhD (2014). His research involves
neuropsychopharmacology, autonomic and cardiovascular pharmacology, cell signaling
mediated by Ca2+ and cAMP. His research work solved the enigma of the paradoxical effects
produced by L-type Ca2+ channel blockers (TOP 25 Hottest Articles - Biochemistry, Genetics
and Molecular Biology - Cell Calcium - TOP 1 July to September 2013/ TOP 5 October to
December 2013/ TOP 1 January to December 2013 full year/TOP 6 January to March 2014).
Since 1975, several clinical and experimental studies have reported that acute and chronic
administration of L-type Ca2+ channel blockers (CCB), such as nifedipine, produces reduction in
arterial pressure associated with a paradoxical increase of sympathetic activity. Despite this
sympathetic hyperactivity has been initially attributed to adjust reflex of arterial pressure, the
cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in this apparent sympathomimetic effect of the Ltype
CCB remained unclear for decades. In 2013, Dr. Bergantin and collaborators discovered
that this paradoxical increase in sympathetic activity produced by L-type CCB is due to
interaction of the Ca2+/cAMP signaling pathways. Then, the pharmacological manipulation of
the Ca2+/cAMP interaction produced by combination of the L-type CCB used in the
antihypertensive therapy, and cAMP accumulating compounds used in the antidepressive
therapy, could represent a potential cardiovascular risk for hypertensive patients due to increase
in sympathetic activity. In contrast, this pharmacological manipulation could be a new
therapeutic strategy for increasing neurotransmission in psychiatric disorders, and producing
neuroprotection in the neurodegenerative diseases (Bergantin and Caricati-Neto, 2016 Eur J
Pharmacol; Caricati-Neto et al., 2015 Pharm Res Perspect). Dr. Bergantin has published
several articles in international journals (> 30), book chapters and an international book. He is
member of several editorial boards of international journals (> 40, including editor-in-chief of 2
international journals). Dr. Bergantin has been frequently invited (every week) to be honorable
guest (speaker) in international conferences.














