The large-conductance, calcium- and voltage-activated potassium (BK) channel has the largest single-channel conductance among potassium channels and can be activated by both membrane depolarization and increases in intracellular calcium concentration. BK channels consist of pore-forming, voltage- and calcium-sensing α subunits, either alone or in association with regulatory subunits. BK channel...

Hristov KL, Smith AC, Parajuli SP, Malysz J, Petkov GV. Large-conductance voltageand Ca -activated K channel regulation by protein kinase C in guinea pig urinary bladder smooth muscle. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 306: C460–C470, 2014. First published December 18, 2013; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00325.2013.—Large-conductance voltageand Ca -activated K (BK) channels are critical regulators of detrusor sm...

In this study, we investigated some of the signalling pathways involved in bradykinin (BK)-induced relaxation in epithelium-intact strips of the guinea-pig trachea (GPT + E). BK induced time- and concentration-dependent relaxation of GPT + E. Similar responses were observed for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) or the combination of subthreshold concentrations of BK plus PGE2. The nonselective cyclooxyge...

RATIONALE Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (BK) are composed of pore-forming BKα and auxiliary β1 subunits in arterial smooth muscle cells (myocytes). Vasoconstrictors, including endothelin-1 (ET-1), inhibit myocyte BK channels, leading to contraction, but mechanisms involved are unclear. Recent evidence indicates that BKα is primarily plasma membrane localized, whereas th...

Casarini, D. E., M. A. Boim, R. C. R. Stella, and N. Schor. Endopeptidases (kininases) are able to hydrolyze kinins in tubular fluid along the rat nephron. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Renal Physiol. 45): F66–F74, 1999.—The activities of serine endopeptidase, prolyl endopeptidase and neutral endopeptidase were determined in tubular fluid collected from several portions of the rat nephron as well as in ...

Intracellular recording methods with "sharp" microelectrodes were used to study actions of bradykinin (BK) on electrical behavior of morphologically identified neurons and the identification and localization of BK receptors in the submucosal plexus of guinea pig small intestine. Exposure to BK depolarized the membrane potential and elevated excitability in submucosal neurons with AH-type electr...

Dilatatív cardiomyopathia talaján kialakult, súlyosan csökkent balkamra- (BK-) funkcióval (EF: 30%) járó szívelégtelenség miatt kardiáliskontraktilitás-modulátor (CCM) pacemakert implantáltunk egy 65 éves férfinak, keskeny QRS-komplex és optimális gyógyszeres kezelés ellenére perzisztáló NYHA III panaszok mellett. Betegünk esetében a szívkontraktilitás-moduláció reverz remodellinget eredményeze...

Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (BK(Ca)s) are important regulators of arterial tone and represent a mediator of the endogenous vasodilator carbon monoxide (CO). Because an up-regulation of the heme oxygenase (HO)/CO system has been associated with mesenteric vasodilatation of cirrhosis, we analyzed the interactions of BK(Ca) and of HO/CO in the endothelium-dependent dilat...

Cerebral arterial remodeling is one of the critical factors in the occurrence of postspaceflight orthostatic intolerance. We hypothesize that large-conductance calcium-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channels in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) may play an important role in regulating cerebrovascular adaptation during microgravity exposure. The aim of this work was to investigate whether activation...

TRPC1 (transient receptor potential canonical 1) is a Ca(2+)-permeable cation channel involved in diverse physiological function. TRPC1 may associate with other proteins to form a signaling complex, which is crucial for channel function. In the present study, we investigated the interaction between TRPC1 and large conductance Ca(2+)-sensitive K(+) channel (BK(Ca)). With the use of potentiometri...