Re: Central Role of the BK Channel in Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle Physiology and Pathophysiology

2016 ◽  
Vol 195 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-422
Author(s):  
Alan J. Wein
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
Muscle Physiology ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle

scholarly journals Stimulation of β3-adrenoceptors relaxes rat urinary bladder smooth muscle via activation of the large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels

2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (5) ◽  
pp. C1344-C1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiril L. Hristov ◽  
Xiangli Cui ◽  
Sean M. Brown ◽  
Lei Liu ◽  
Whitney F. Kellett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Rat Urinary Bladder ◽  
Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Brl 37344 ◽  
Stimulation Of

We investigated the role of large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels in β3-adrenoceptor (β3-AR)-induced relaxation in rat urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM). BRL 37344, a specific β3-AR agonist, inhibits spontaneous contractions of isolated UBSM strips. SR59230A, a specific β3-AR antagonist, and H89, a PKA inhibitor, reduced the inhibitory effect of BRL 37344. Iberiotoxin, a specific BK channel inhibitor, shifts the BRL 37344 concentration response curves for contraction amplitude, net muscle force, and tone to the right. Freshly dispersed UBSM cells and the perforated mode of the patch-clamp technique were used to determine further the role of β3-AR stimulation by BRL 37344 on BK channel activity. BRL 37344 increased spontaneous, transient, outward BK current (STOC) frequency by 46.0 ± 20.1%. In whole cell mode at a holding potential of Vh = 0 mV, the single BK channel amplitude was 5.17 ± 0.28 pA, whereas in the presence of BRL 37344, it was 5.55 ± 0.41 pA. The BK channel open probability was also unchanged. In the presence of ryanodine and nifedipine, the current-voltage relationship in response to depolarization steps in the presence and absence of BRL 37344 was identical. In current-clamp mode, BRL 37344 caused membrane potential hyperpolarization from −26.1 ± 2.1 mV (control) to −29.0 ± 2.2 mV. The BRL 37344-induced hyperpolarization was eliminated by application of iberiotoxin, tetraethylammonium or ryanodine. The data indicate that stimulation of β3-AR relaxes rat UBSM by increasing the BK channel STOC frequency, which causes membrane hyperpolarization and thus relaxation.

scholarly journals Constitutive PKA activity is essential for maintaining the excitability and contractility in guinea pig urinary bladder smooth muscle: role of the BK channel

2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (12) ◽  
pp. C1142-C1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenkuan Xin ◽  
Ning Li ◽  
Qiuping Cheng ◽  
Vitor S. Fernandes ◽  
Georgi V. Petkov
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Fluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Guinea Pig ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Ratiometric Fluorescence ◽  
Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle

The elevation of protein kinase A (PKA) activity activates the large-conductance voltage- and Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels in urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM) cells and consequently attenuates spontaneous phasic contractions of UBSM. However, the role of constitutive PKA activity in UBSM function has not been studied. Here, we tested the hypothesis that constitutive PKA activity is essential for controlling the excitability and contractility of UBSM. We used patch clamp electrophysiology, line-scanning confocal and ratiometric fluorescence microscopy on freshly isolated guinea pig UBSM cells, and isometric tension recordings on freshly isolated UBSM strips. Pharmacological inhibition of the constitutive PKA activity with H-89 or PKI 14–22 significantly reduced the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous transient BK channel currents (TBKCs) in UBSM cells. Confocal and ratiometric fluorescence microscopy studies revealed that inhibition of constitutive PKA activity with H-89 reduced the frequency and amplitude of the localized Ca2+ sparks but increased global Ca2+ levels and the magnitude of Ca2+ oscillations in UBSM cells. H-89 abolished the spontaneous transient membrane hyperpolarizations and depolarized the membrane potential in UBSM cells. Inhibition of PKA with H-89 or KT-5720 also increased the amplitude and muscle force of UBSM spontaneous phasic contractions. This study reveals the novel concept that constitutive PKA activity is essential for controlling localized Ca2+ signals generated by intracellular Ca2+ stores and cytosolic Ca2+ levels. Furthermore, constitutive PKA activity is critical for mediating the spontaneous TBKCs in UBSM cells, where it plays a key role in regulating spontaneous phasic contractions in UBSM.

scholarly journals Central role of the BK channel in urinary bladder smooth muscle physiology and pathophysiology

2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (6) ◽  
pp. R571-R584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgi V. Petkov
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Overactive Bladder ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
Regulatory Mechanisms ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle

The physiological functions of the urinary bladder are to store and periodically expel urine. These tasks are facilitated by the contraction and relaxation of the urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM), also known as detrusor smooth muscle, which comprises the bladder wall. The large-conductance voltage- and Ca2+-activated K+ (BK, BKCa, MaxiK, Slo1, or KCa1.1) channel is highly expressed in UBSM and is arguably the most important physiologically relevant K+ channel that regulates UBSM function. Its significance arises from the fact that the BK channel is the only K+ channel that is activated by increases in both voltage and intracellular Ca2+. The BK channels control UBSM excitability and contractility by maintaining the resting membrane potential and shaping the repolarization phase of the spontaneous action potentials that determine UBSM spontaneous rhythmic contractility. In UBSM, these channels have complex regulatory mechanisms involving integrated intracellular Ca2+ signals, protein kinases, phosphodiesterases, and close functional interactions with muscarinic and β-adrenergic receptors. BK channel dysfunction is implicated in some forms of bladder pathologies, such as detrusor overactivity, and related overactive bladder. This review article summarizes the current state of knowledge of the functional role of UBSM BK channels under normal and pathophysiological conditions and provides new insight toward the BK channels as targets for pharmacological or genetic control of UBSM function. Modulation of UBSM BK channels can occur by directly or indirectly targeting their regulatory mechanisms, which has the potential to provide novel therapeutic approaches for bladder dysfunction, such as overactive bladder and detrusor underactivity.

scholarly journals Expression and functional role of Rho-kinase in rat urinary bladder smooth muscle

2003 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
pp. 757-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Wibberley ◽  
Zunxuan Chen ◽  
Erding Hu ◽  
J Paul Hieble ◽  
Timothy D Westfall
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Rho Kinase ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Rat Urinary Bladder ◽  
Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle

scholarly journals Frequency encoding of cholinergic- and purinergic-mediated signaling to mouse urinary bladder smooth muscle: modulation by BK channels

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. R616-R624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias E. Werner ◽  
Anna-Maria Knorn ◽  
Andrea L. Meredith ◽  
Richard W. Aldrich ◽  
Mark T. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Bk Channels ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
Detrusor Muscle ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Overactive Detrusor ◽  
Maximal Force ◽  
Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle

In the urinary bladder, contractions of the detrusor muscle and urine voiding are induced by the neurotransmitters ACh and ATP, released from parasympathetic nerves. Activation of K+ channels, in particular the large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels, opposes increases in excitability and contractility of urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM). We have shown that deleting the gene mSlo1 in mice ( Slo−/−), encoding the BK channel, leads to enhanced nerve-mediated and neurotransmitter-dependent contractility of UBSM ( 38 ). Here, we examine the location of the BK channel in urinary bladder strips from mouse. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the channel is expressed in UBSM but not in nerves that innervate the smooth muscle. The relationship between electrical field stimulation and force generation of the cholinergic and purinergic pathways was examined by applying blockers of the respective receptors in UBSM strips from wild-type and from Slo−/− (knockout) mice. In wild-type strips, the stimulation frequency required to obtain a half-maximal force was significantly lower for the purinergic (7.2 ± 0.3 Hz) than the cholinergic pathway (19.1 ± 1.5 Hz), whereas the maximum force was similar. Blocking BK channels with iberiotoxin or ablation of the Slo gene increased cholinergic- and purinergic-mediated force at low frequencies, i.e., significantly decreased the frequency for a half-maximal force. Our results indicate that the BK channel has a very significant role in reducing both cholinergic- and purinergic-induced contractility and suggest that alterations in BK channel expression or function could contribute to pathologies such as overactive detrusor.

Low levels of KATP channel activation decrease excitability and contractility of urinary bladder

2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (5) ◽  
pp. R1427-R1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgi V. Petkov ◽  
Thomas J. Heppner ◽  
Adrian D. Bonev ◽  
Gerald M. Herrera ◽  
Mark T. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Channel Activation ◽  
Smooth Muscle Function ◽  
Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle ◽  
Channel Currents

Activation of ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels can regulate smooth muscle function through membrane potential hyperpolarization. A critical issue in understanding the role of KATP channels is the relationship between channel activation and the effect on tissue function. Here, we explored this relationship in urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM) from the detrusor by activating KATP channels with the synthetic compounds N-(4-benzoylphenyl)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropionamide (ZD-6169) and levcromakalim. The effects of ZD-6169 and levcromakalim on KATP channel currents in isolated UBSM cells, on action potentials, and on related phasic contractions of isolated UBSM strips were examined. ZD-6169 and levcromakalim at 1.02 and 2.63 μM, respectively, caused half-maximal activation (K1/2) of KATP currents in single UBSM cells (see Heppner TJ, Bonev A, Li JH, Kau ST, and Nelson MT. Pharmacology 53: 170–179, 1996). In contrast, much lower concentrations (K1/2 = 47 nM for ZD-6169 and K1/2 = 38 nM for levcromakalim) caused inhibition of action potentials and phasic contractions of UBSM. The results suggest that activation of <1% of KATP channels is sufficient to inhibit significantly action potentials and the related phasic contractions.

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