Expression of voltage-dependent K+ channel genes in mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells

1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (5) ◽  
pp. G1055-G1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanli Xu ◽  
Yanjie Lu ◽  
Guanghua Tang ◽  
Rui Wang

Molecular basis of native voltage-dependent K+(Kv) channels in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from rat mesenteric arteries was investigated. The whole cell patch-clamp study revealed that a 4-aminopyridine-sensitive delayed rectifier K+ current ( I K) was the predominant K+ conductance in these cells. A systematic screening of the expression of 18 Kv channel genes using RT-PCR technique showed that six I K-encoding genes (Kv1.2, Kv1.3, Kv1.5, Kv2.1, Kv2.2, and Kv3.2) were expressed in mesenteric artery. Although no transient outward Kv currents ( I A) were recorded in the studied SMCs, transcripts of multiple I A-encoding genes, including Kv1.4, Kv3.3, Kv3.4, Kv4.1, Kv4.2, and Kv4.3 as well as I A-facilitating Kv β-subunits (Kvβ1, Kvβ2, and Kvβ3), were detected in mesenteric arteries. Western blot analysis demonstrated that four I K-related Kv channel proteins (Kv1.2, Kv1.3, Kv1.5, and Kv2.1) were detected in mesenteric artery tissues. The presence of Kv1.2, Kv1.3, Kv1.5, and Kv2.1 channel proteins in isolated SMCs was further confirmed by immunocytochemistry study. Our results suggest that the native I K in rat mesenteric artery SMCs might be generated by heteromultimerization of Kv genes.

2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (5) ◽  
pp. H2316-H2323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youqin Cheng ◽  
Joseph Fomusi Ndisang ◽  
Guanghua Tang ◽  
Kun Cao ◽  
Rui Wang

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been shown recently to function as an important gasotransmitter. The present study investigated the vascular effects of H2S, both exogenously applied and endogenously generated, on resistance mesenteric arteries of rats and the underlying mechanisms. Both H2S and NaHS evoked concentration-dependent relaxation of in vitro perfused rat mesenteric artery beds (MAB). The sensitivity of MAB to H2S (EC50, 25.2 ± 3.6 μM) was about fivefold higher than that of rat aortic tissues. Removal of endothelium or coapplication of charybdotoxin and apamin to endothelium-intact MAB significantly reduced the vasorelaxation effects of H2S. The H2S-induced relaxation of MAB was partially mediated by ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel activity in vascular smooth muscle cells. Pinacidil (EC50, 1.7 ± 0.1 μM, n = 6) mimicked, but glibenclamide (10 μM, n = 6) suppressed, the vasorelaxant effect of H2S. KATP channel currents in isolated mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells were significantly augmented by H2S. l-Cysteine, a substrate of cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE), at 1 mM increased endogenous H2S production by sixfold in rat mesenteric artery tissues and decreased contractility of MAB. dl-Propargylglycine (a blocker of CSE) at 10 μM abolished l-cysteine-dependent increase in H2S production and relaxation of MAB. Our results demonstrated a tissue-specific relaxant response of resistance arteries to H2S. The stimulation of KATP channels in vascular smooth muscle cells and charybdotoxin/apamin-sensitive K+ channels in vascular endothelium by H2S represents important cellular mechanisms for H2S effect on MAB. Our study also demonstrated that endogenous CSE can generate sufficient H2S from exogenous l-cysteine to cause vasodilation. Future studies are merited to investigate direct contribution of endogenous H2S to regulation of vascular tone.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (1) ◽  
pp. H137-H145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Berra-Romani ◽  
Mordecai P. Blaustein ◽  
Donald R. Matteson

The presence and properties of voltage-gated Na+ channels in mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were studied using whole cell patch-clamp recording. SMCs from mouse and rat mesenteric arteries were enzymatically dissociated using two dissociation protocols with different enzyme combinations. Na+ and Ca2+ channel currents were present in myocytes isolated with collagenase and elastase. In contrast, Na+ currents were not detected, but Ca2+ currents were present in cells isolated with papain and collagenase. Ca2+ currents were blocked by nifedipine. The Na+ current was insensitive to nifedipine, sensitive to changes in the extracellular Na+ concentration, and blocked by tetrodotoxin with an IC50 at 4.3 nM. The Na+ conductance was half maximally activated at −16 mV, and steady-state inactivation was half-maximal at −53 mV. These values are similar to those reported in various SMC types. In the presence of 1 μM batrachotoxin, the Na+ conductance-voltage relationship was shifted by 27 mV in the hyperpolarizing direction, inactivation was almost completely eliminated, and the deactivation rate was decreased. The present study indicates that TTX-sensitive, voltage-gated Na+ channels are present in SMCs from the rat and mouse mesenteric artery. The presence of these channels in freshly isolated SMC depends critically on the enzymatic dissociation conditions. This could resolve controversy about the presence of Na+ channels in arterial smooth muscle.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (2) ◽  
pp. H1085-H1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin-Nan Wu ◽  
Kevin D. Luykenaar ◽  
Joseph E. Brayden ◽  
Wayne R. Giles ◽  
Randolph L. Corteling ◽  
...  

This study sought to define whether inward rectifying K+ (KIR) channels were modulated by vasoactive stimuli known to depolarize and constrict intact cerebral arteries. Using pressure myography and patch-clamp electrophysiology, initial experiments revealed a Ba2+-sensitive KIR current in cerebral arterial smooth muscle cells that was active over a physiological range of membrane potentials and whose inhibition led to arterial depolarization and constriction. Real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemical analyses established the expression of both KIR2.1 and KIR2.2 in cerebral arterial smooth muscle cells. Vasoconstrictor agonists known to depolarize and constrict rat cerebral arteries, including uridine triphosphate, U46619, and 5-HT, had no discernable effect on whole cell KIR activity. Control experiments confirmed that vasoconstrictor agonists could inhibit the voltage-dependent delayed rectifier K+ (KDR) current. In contrast to these observations, a hyposmotic challenge that activates mechanosensitive ion channels elicited a rapid and sustained inhibition of the KIR but not the KDR current. The hyposmotic-induced inhibition of KIR was 1) mimicked by phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate, a PKC agonist; and 2) inhibited by calphostin C, a PKC inhibitor. These findings suggest that, by modulating PKC, mechanical stimuli can regulate KIR activity and consequently the electrical and mechanical state of intact cerebral arteries. We propose that the mechanoregulation of KIR channels plays a role in the development of myogenic tone.


1990 ◽  
Vol 259 (6) ◽  
pp. L384-L395 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Kotlikoff

The electrical properties of dissociated canine tracheal smooth muscle cells were examined using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. In current clamp mode, current clamp steps did not initiate action potentials but showed clear outward rectification, which was abolished when cells were loaded with Cs+ ions and when tetraethylammonium (TEA+) ions replaced Na+ in the bath solution. In voltage-clamp experiments, depolarizations positive to -45 mV evoked brief voltage-dependent inward Ca2+ currents [Am. J. Physiol. 254 (Cell Physiol. 23): C793-C801, 1988], followed by sustained outward currents, which did not completely inactivate. Outward currents were identified as K+ currents on the basis of the reversal potential of the current and by ion-substitution experiments. The currents were further defined as Ca2(+)-insensitive delayed rectifier currents, since they were unaltered under conditions in which 1) the Ca2+ current was completely blocked by Mn2+ or nifedipine (10 microM); 2) Ba2+ ions were substituted for Ca2+ as the inward current charge carrier; or 3) charybdotoxin (40 nM) or TEA+ (up to 10 mM) were added to the bath. A Ca2(+)-activated potassium [K(Ca)] current was activated by application of methacholine (100 microM), or A23187 (1 microM), under conditions of low Ca2+ buffering capacity in the internal solution [0.3 mM ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N-,N--tetraacetic acid (EGTA)]. The K(Ca) current was blocked by 10 mM TEA+ and was not observed under conditions of high intracellular Ca2+ buffering (11 mM EGTA). These data indicate that canine airway smooth muscle cells contain voltage-dependent delayed rectifier channels that underlie membrane rectification and K(Ca) channels that are activated by agents which release intracellular Ca2+ stores.


1971 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. DEVINE ◽  
F. O. SIMPSON ◽  
W. S. BERTAUD

Smooth muscle cells of small mesenteric arteries and vas deferens of guinea-pig were examined by freeze-etching. The most striking finding was that the surface vesicles lie in roughly longitudinal rows, with areas of membrane free of vesicles in between. The areas free of vesicles are believed to correspond to areas occupied by dense bodies in conventionally fixed and sectioned material. Other cell constituents which could be identified included sarcoplasmic reticulum and, probably, thick myofilaments.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (4) ◽  
pp. C1271-C1278 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Peng ◽  
J. R. Hoidal ◽  
S. V. Karwande ◽  
I. S. Farrukh

We investigated the effects of chronic hypoxia on the major outward K+ currents in early cultured human main pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (HPSMC). Unitary currents were measured from inside-out, outside-out, and cell-attached patches of HPSMC. Chronic hypoxia depolarized resting membrane potential (Em) and reduced the activity of a charybdotoxin (CTX)- and iberiotoxin-sensitive, Ca2+-dependent K+ channel (KCa). The 4-aminopyridine-sensitive and CTX-insensitive channel or the delayed rectifier K+ channel was unaffected by chronic hypoxia. Chronic hypoxia caused a +33- to +53-mV right shift in voltage-dependent activation of K(Ca) and a decrease in K(Ca) activity at all cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) in the range of 0.1-10 microM. Thus the hypoxia-induced decrease in K(Ca) activity was most likely due to a decrease in K(Ca) sensitivity to Em and [Ca2+]i. Chronic hypoxia reduced the ability of nitric oxide (NO.) and guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) to activate K(Ca). The cGMP-dependent protein kinase-induced activation of K(Ca) was also significantly inhibited by chronic hypoxia. In addition, inhibiting channel dephosphorylation with calyculin A caused significantly less increase in K(Ca) activity in membrane patches excised from chronically hypoxic HPSMC compared with normoxic controls. This suggests that the mechanism by which hypoxia modulates NO.-induced K(Ca) activation is by decreasing the NO./cGMP-mediated phosphorylation of the channel.


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