The First International Symposium on Mechanism and Treatment in Essential Hypertension was held
on October 23 and 24 1985 in Nagoya. The Second International Symposium which was held on May
30 31 and June 1 1988 in Nagoya was a success thanks to the endeavors of all the
participants. These symposiums were made possible by the generous support of the city of Nagoya
Aichi Prefec ture and various contributions. Understanding of the mechanisms of gene (major
gene essential) hypertension is impossible unless we comprehend the physiological properties
of arterial smooth muscle. Since Langendorff's discovery of the role of calcium ions in muscle
contraction in 1895 we have made immense progress in our knowledge of the role of the calcium
ion in the excitation-contraction coupling of the arterial smooth mus cle. Investigation of the
molecular mechanisms controlling the cellu lar basis of calcium ion action has been established
with the discovery of the calcium binding protein (Ebashi 1963). The participation of the
calcium induced calcium mechanism in the contraction of muscle has been directly demonstrated
by using chemically skinned smooth muscle fibers (Endo et al. 1977). Methods for intracellular
free cal cium contents and calcium channel activity have been developed and contribute to the
study of the role of the calcium ion in arterial smooth muscle contractility. Such recent
progress promotes study of the basic physiological biochemical and molecular properties of
the calcium channel and in the field of hypertension research the sodium and potassium
channels.
