RATIONALE The large conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK) channel, a key determinant of vascular tone, is regulated by angiotensin II (Ang II) type 1 receptor signaling. Upregulation of Ang II functions and downregulation of BK channel activities have been reported in diabetic vessels. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying Ang II-mediated BK channel modulation, especially in diabetes me...

Large-conductance voltage- and Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (Slo1 BK) channels serve numerous cellular functions, and their dysregulation is implicated in various diseases. Drugs activating BK channels therefore bear substantial therapeutic potential, but their deployment has been hindered in part because the mode of action remains obscure. Here we provide mechanistic insight into how the dehydroabiet...

Prakriya, Murali and Christopher J. Lingle. Activation of BK channels in rat chromaffin cells requires summation of Ca influx from multiple Ca channels. J Neurophysiol 84: 1123–1135, 2000. Large-conductance Ca and voltage-dependent K channels (BK channels) in many tissues require high Ca concentrations for activation and therefore might be expected to be tightly coupled to Ca channels. However,...

At birth, the lung environment changes from low to relatively high O 2 tension. Pulmonary blood flow increases and pulmonary artery pressure decreases. Recent data suggests that pulmonary vascular calcium-sensitive potassium channel (BK Ca) activation mediates perinatal pulmonary vasodilation. While BK Ca channel expression is developmentally regulated, the molecular mechanisms responsible for ...

Acclimatization to high-altitude, long-term hypoxia (LTH) reportedly alters cerebral artery contraction-relaxation responses associated with changes in K(+) channel activity. We hypothesized that to maintain oxygenation during LTH, basilar arteries (BA) in the ovine adult and near-term fetus would show increased large-conductance Ca(2+) activated potassium (BK) channel activity. We measured BK ...

Vasoinhibins, a family of antiangiogenic peptides derived from prolactin proteolysis, inhibit the vascular effects of several proangiogenic factors, including bradykinin (BK). Here, we report that vasoinhibins block the BK-induced proliferation of bovine umbilical vein endothelial cells. This effect is mediated by the inactivation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), as the NO donor DET...

BACKGROUND In the central nervous system ethanol (EtOH) is metabolized to acetaldehyde (ACA) primarily by the oxidative enzyme catalase. Evidence suggests that ACA is responsible for at least some of the effects on the brain that have been attributed to EtOH. Various types of ion channels which are involved in electrical signaling are targets of EtOH like maxi calcium-activated potassium (BK) c...

Large conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK) channels consist of pore-forming α- and accessory β-subunits. There are four β-subunit subtypes (β1-β4), BK β1-subunit is specific for smooth muscle cells (SMC). Reduced BK β1-subunit expression is associated with SMC dysfunction in animal models of human disease, because downregulation of BK β1-subunit reduces channel activity and increases SMC cont...

Plasma membrane large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channels and sarcoplasmic reticulum inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) receptors (IP(3)Rs) are expressed in a wide variety of cell types, including arterial smooth muscle cells. Here, we studied BK(Ca) channel regulation by IP(3) and IP(3)Rs in rat and mouse cerebral artery smooth muscle cells. IP(3) activated BK(Ca) channels bo...

Large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels play a key role in the control of neuronal activity. Ethanol is a potent activator of BK channel gating, but how this action may impact ethanol drinking still remains poorly understood. Auxiliary β subunits are known to modulate ethanol-induced potentiation of BK currents. In the present study, we investigated whether BK β1 and β4 subu...