Effective mucociliary clearance (MCC) depends in part on adequate airway surface liquid (ASL) volume to maintain an appropriate periciliary fluid height that allows normal ciliary activity. Apically expressed large-conductance, Ca(2+)-activated, and voltage-dependent K(+) (BK) channels provide an electrochemical gradient for Cl(-) secretion and thus play an important role for adequate airway hy...

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) has been shown to link leptin receptor activation to stimulation of large conductance Ca-activated K (BK) channels and subsequent inhibition of hippocampal epileptiform-like activity. However, the downstream targets of PI3-kinase in this action of leptin are unknown. Here we show that BK channel activation by leptin is dependent on the actin cytoskeleton, ...

Alternative exon splicing and reversible protein phosphorylation of large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels represent fundamental control mechanisms for the regulation of cellular excitability. BK channels are encoded by a single gene that undergoes extensive, hormonally regulated exon splicing. In native tissues BK channels display considerable diversity and plasticity in t...

In the serum of 116 healthy individuals, exogenous bradykinin (BK) half-life (27 +/- 10 s) was lower than that of des-Arg(9)-BK (643 +/- 436 s) and was statistically different in men compared with women. The potentiating effect of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor was, however, more extensive for BK (9.0-fold) than for des-Arg(9)-BK (2.2- fold). The activities of ACE, aminopeptid...

Bradykinin (BK) has been reported to be involved in the progression of many types of cancer. In the present study, we investigated a possible role of BK in colorectal cancer cell invasion and migration. Invasion and migration assays showed that BK treatment promoted the invasion and migration of colorectal cancer cells. Further experiments showed that BK treatment stimulated ERK1/2 activation a...

A human homolog of the large-conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channel beta subunit (hSlobeta) was cloned, and its effects on a human BK channel (hSlo) phenotype are reported. Coexpression of hSlo and hSlobeta, in both oocytes and human embryonic kidney 293 cells, resulted in increased Ca2+ sensitivity, marked slowing of BK channel activation and relaxation, and significant reduction...

In anesthetized cats, the administration of either bradykinin (BK) (0.3-3 micrograms/kg) or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) (1-30 micrograms/kg) into the cranial mesenteric artery dose-dependently evoked the firing discharge in the proximal end of the afferent greater splanchnic nerves with a latency of about 10 sec, the pronounced contraction of the longitudinal muscle of the jejunum, and changes in b...

Polyoma BK virus (BKV) is frequently identified in the urine of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) patients with hemorrhagic cystitis (HC). However, viruria is common even in asymptomatic patients, making a direct causative role of BKV difficult to establish. This study prospectively quantified BK viruria and viremia in 50 BMT patients to define the quantitative relationship of BKV reactivation ...

In the present study, we investigated the potentiating effect of angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] on bradykinin (BK)-induced vasodilation in the mesenteric vascular bed of anesthetized spontaneously hypertensive rats using intravital microscopy. Topical application of BK and Ang-(1-7) induced vasodilation in mesenteric arterioles. The BK-induced effect, but not acetylcholine, sodium nitroprusside,...

BK virus is associated with hemorrhagic cystitis after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), although evidence supporting a causal relationship remains limited. Although BK viruria is common after HSCT, BK viremia may better predict clinically significant cystitis, similar to its predictive value for nephropathy after kidney transplantation. We hypothesized that BK viremia would prece...