PURPOSE To evaluate the expression of ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channel subunits and study the effect of K(ATP) channel openers diazoxide and nicorandil on intraocular pressure (IOP) in an in vivo mouse model. METHODS Expression of K(ATP) channel subunits in normal C57BL/6 mouse eyes was studied by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy. Wild-type C57BL/6 mice were treated with K...

The contribution of potassium channels [ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) and high-conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK(Ca)) channels] in the resistance of aortic rings of term pregnant rats to phenylephrine (Phe), arginine vasopressin (AVP), and KCl was investigated. Concentration-response curves to tetraethylammonium (TEA), a nonselective K(+) channel inhibitor, were obtained in the abs...

Microglia, the resident immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS), constantly survey the surrounding neural parenchyma and promptly respond to brain injury. Activation of purinergic receptors such as P2Y12 receptors (P2Y12R) in microglia has been implicated in chemotaxis toward ATP that is released by injured neurons and astrocytes. Activation of microglial P2Y12R elicits outward potassi...

ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels are critical for the maintenance of glucose homeostasis. They are essential for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells, contribute to the mechanisms by which hypoglycaemia stimulates glucagon release from pancreatic alpha-cells, and are involved in glucose uptake into skeletal muscle, glucose production and release from the live...

We investigated the contribution of opening of the ATP-sensitive K+ channel to extracellular accumulation of K+ during ischemia with the use of glibenclamide, a specific blocker of this K+ channel. To characterize the electrophysiological effects of glibenclamide during metabolic inhibition (by either application of dinitrophenol or hypoxia) we performed patch-clamp studies in isolated membrane...

Zingman LV, Alekseev AE, Hodgson-Zingman DM, Terzic A. ATP-sensitive potassium channels: metabolic sensing and cardioprotection. J Appl Physiol 103: 1888–1893, 2007. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00747.2007.—The cardiovascular system operates under a wide scale of demands, ranging from conditions of rest to extreme stress. How the heart muscle matches rates of ATP production with utilization is an a...