Downregulation of Kv7.4 channel activity in primary and secondary hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Voltage-gated potassium (K(+)) channels encoded by KCNQ genes (Kv7 channels) have been identified in various rodent and human blood vessels as key regulators of vascular tone; however, nothing is known about the functional impact of these channels in vascular disease. We ascertained the effect of 3 structurally different activators of Kv7.2 through Kv7.5 channels (BMS-204352, S-1, and retigabine) on blood vessels from normotensive and hypertensive animals. METHODS AND RESULTS: Precontracted thoracic aorta and mesenteric artery segments from normotensive rats were relaxed by all 3 Kv7 activators, with potencies of BMS-204352=S-1>retigabine. We also tested these agents in the coronary circulation using the Langendorff heart preparation. BMS-204352 and S-1 dose dependently increased coronary perfusion at concentrations between 0.1 and 10 µmol/L, whereas retigabine was effective at 1 to 10 µmol/L. In addition, S-1 increased K(+) currents in isolated mesenteric artery myocytes. The ability of these agents to relax precontracted vessels, increase coronary flow, or augment K(+) currents was impaired considerably in tissues isolated from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Of the 5 KCNQ genes, only the expression of KCNQ4 was reduced (≈3.7 fold) in SHRs aorta. Kv7.4 protein levels were ≈50% lower in aortas and mesenteric arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats compared with normotensive vessels. A similar attenuated response to S-1 and decreased Kv7.4 were observed in mesenteric arteries from mice made hypertensive by angiotensin II infusion compared with normotensive controls. CONCLUSIONS: In 2 different rat and mouse models of hypertension, the functional impact of Kv7 channels was dramatically downregulated.

Participation of KCNQ (Kv7) potassium channels in myogenic control of cerebral arterial diameter.

KCNQ gene expression was previously shown in various rodent blood vessels, where the products of KCNQ4 and KCNQ5, Kv7.4 and Kv7.5 potassium channel subunits, respectively, have an influence on vascular reactivity. The aim of this study was to determine if small cerebral resistance arteries of the rat express KCNQ genes and whether Kv7 channels participate in the regulation of myogenic control of diameter. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) was undertaken using RNA isolated from rat middle cerebral arteries (RMCAs) and immunocytochemistry was performed using Kv7 subunit-specific antibodies and freshly isolated RMCA myocytes. KCNQ4 message was more abundant than KCNQ5 = KCNQ1, but KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 message levels were negligible. Kv7.1, Kv7.4 and Kv7.5 immunoreactivity was present at the sarcolemma of freshly isolated RMCA myocytes. Linopirdine (1 microm) partially depressed, whereas the Kv7 activator S-1 (3 and/or 20 microm) enhanced whole-cell Kv7.4 (in HEK 293 cells), as well as native RMCA myocyte Kv current amplitude. The effects of S-1 were voltage-dependent, with progressive loss of stimulation at potentials of >15 mV. At the concentrations employed linopirdine and S-1 did not alter currents due to recombinant Kv1.2/Kv1.5 or Kv2.1/Kv9.3 channels (in HEK 293 cells) that are also expressed by RMCA myocytes. In contrast, another widely used Kv7 blocker, XE991 (10 microm), significantly attenuated native Kv current and also reduced Kv1.2/Kv1.5 and Kv2.1/Kv9.3 currents. Pressurized arterial myography was performed using RMCAs exposed to intravascular pressures of 10-100 mmHg. Linopirdine (1 microm) enhanced the myogenic response at 20 mmHg, whereas the activation of Kv7 channels with S-1 (20 microm) inhibited myogenic constriction at >20 mmHg and reversed the increased myogenic response produced by suppression of Kv2-containing channels with 30 nm stromatoxin (ScTx1). These data reveal a novel contribution of KCNQ gene products to the regulation of myogenic control of cerebral arterial diameter and suggest that Kv7 channel activating drugs may be appropriate candidates for the development of an effective therapy to ameliorate cerebral vasospasm.

TMEM16A is implicated in the regulation of coronary flow and is altered in hypertension.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Coronary artery disease leads to ischaemic heart disease and ultimately myocardial infarction. Thus, it is important to determine the factors that regulate coronary blood flow. Ca2+ -activated chloride channels contribute to the regulation of arterial tone; however, their role in coronary arteries is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and function of the main molecular correlate of Ca2+ -activated chloride channels, TMEM16A, in rat coronary arteries. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: We performed mRNA and protein analysis, electrophysiological studies of coronary artery myocytes, and functional studies of coronary artery contractility and coronary perfusion, using novel inhibitors of TMEM16A. Furthermore, we assessed whether any changes in expression and function occurred in coronary arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). KEY RESULTS: TMEM16A was expressed in rat coronary arteries. The TMEM16A-specific inhibitor, MONNA, hyperpolarised the membrane potential in U46619. MONNA, T16Ainh -A01, and Ani9 attenuated 5-HT/U46619-induced contractions. MONNA and T16Ainh -A01 also increased coronary flow in Langendorff perfused rat heart preparations. TMEM16A mRNA was increased in coronary artery smooth muscle cells from SHRs, and U46619 and 5-HT were more potent in arteries from SHRs than in those from normal Wistar rats. MONNA diminished this increased sensitivity to U46619 and 5-HT. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: In conclusion, TMEM16A is a key regulator of coronary blood flow and is implicated in the altered contractility of coronary arteries from SHRs.

K(v)7 channels: function, pharmacology and channel modulators.

K(v)7 channels are unique among K(+) channels, since four out of the five channel subtypes have well-documented roles in the development of human diseases. They have distinct physiological functions in the heart and in the nervous system, which can be ascribed to their voltage-gating properties. The K(v)7 channels also lend themselves to pharmacological modulation, and synthetic openers as well as blockers of the channels, regulating neuronal excitability, have existed even before the K(v)7 channels were identified by cloning. In the present review we give an account on the focused efforts to develop selective modulators, openers as well as blockers, of the K(v)7 channel subtypes, which have been undertaken during recent years, along with a discussion of the K(v)7 ion channel physiology and therapeutic indications for modulators of the neuronal K(v)7 channels.

Activation of KCNQ5 channels stably expressed in HEK293 cells by BMS-204352.

The novel anti-ischemic compound, BMS-204352 ((3S)-(+)-(5-chloro-2-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-dihydro-3-fluoro-6-(trifluoromethyl)-2H-indol-2-one)), strongly activates the voltage-gated K+ channel KCNQ5 in a concentration-dependent manner with an EC50 of 2.4 microM. At 10 microM, BMS-204352 increased the steady state current at -30 mV by 12-fold, in contrast to the 2-fold increase observed for the other KCNQ channels [Schrøder et al., 2001]. Retigabine ((D-23129; N-(2-amino-4-(4-fluorobenzylamino)-phenyl) carbamic acid ethyl ester) induced a smaller, yet qualitatively similar effect on KCNQ5. Furthermore, BMS-204352 (10 microM) did not significantly shift the KCNQ5 activation curves (threshold and potential for half-activation, V1/2), as observed for the other KCNQ channels. In the presence of BMS-204352, the activation and deactivation kinetics of the KCNQ5 currents were slowed as the slow activation time constant increased up to 10-fold. The M-current blockers, linopirdine (DuP 996; 3,3-bis(4-pyridinylmethyl)-1-phenylindolin-2-one) and XE991 (10,10-bis(4-pyridinylmethyl)-9(10H)-anthracenone), inhibited the activation of the KCNQ5 channel induced by the BMS-204352. Thus, BMS-204352 appears to be an efficacious KCNQ channels activator, and the pharmacological properties of the compound on the KCNQ5 channel seems to be different from what has been obtained on the other KCNQ channels.

Reduced KCNQ4-encoded voltage-dependent potassium channel activity underlies impaired ß-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of renal arteries in hypertension.

KCNQ4-encoded voltage-dependent potassium (Kv7.4) channels are important regulators of vascular tone that are severely compromised in models of hypertension. However, there is no information as to the role of these channels in responses to endogenous vasodilators. We used a molecular knockdown strategy, as well as pharmacological tools, to examine the hypothesis that Kv7.4 channels contribute to ß-adrenoceptor-mediated vasodilation in the renal vasculature and underlie the vascular deficit in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry confirmed gene and protein expression of KCNQ1, KCNQ3, KCNQ4, KCNQ5, and Kv7.1, Kv7.4, and Kv7.5 in rat renal artery. Isoproterenol produced concentration-dependent relaxation of precontracted renal arteries and increased Kv7 channel currents in isolated smooth muscle cells. Application of the Kv7 blocker linopirdine attenuated isoproterenol-induced relaxation and current. Isoproterenol-induced relaxations were also reduced in arteries incubated with small interference RNAs targeted to KCNQ4 that produced a ≈60% decrease in Kv7.4 protein level. Relaxation to isoproterenol and the Kv7 activator S-1 were abolished in arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats, which was associated with ≈60% decrease in Kv7.4 abundance. This study provides the first evidence that Kv7 channels contribute to ß-adrenoceptor-mediated vasodilation in the renal vasculature and that abrogation of Kv7.4 channels is strongly implicated in the impaired ß-adrenoceptor pathway in spontaneously hypertensive rats. These findings may provide a novel pathogenic link between arterial dysfunction and hypertension.