Effects of BRL 38227 on potassium currents in smooth muscle cells isolated from rabbit portal vein and human mesenteric artery.

1. Single smooth muscle cells were isolated from the rabbit portal vein and the human mesenteric artery and whole cell currents recorded at room temperature from either cell type by the whole cell voltage clamp technique. 2. In the rabbit portal vein cells addition of 10 microM BRL 38227 induced a quasi-instantaneous, voltage-insensitive and time-independent current which had a reversal potential of -75 mV under experimental conditions where the calculated EK was -83 mV. 3. Cells were held at 0 mV and BRL 38227 was added cumulatively to construct a dose-response relationship. BRL 38227 (0.03-10 microM) caused a dose-dependent outward shift in the holding current with an EC50 of 1.3 microM. 4. BRL 38227 (10 microM) had no effect on the delayed rectifier K+ current measured in the presence of 5 mM tetraethylammonium and no effect on the Ca(2+)-activated K+ current measured in the presence of 5 mM 4-aminopyridine. Similarly BRL 38227 had no effect on the Ca2+ current. 5. The BRL 38227-induced current was blocked by glibenclamide (10 microM) and phentolamine (100 microM), specific blockers of the ATP-sensitive K+ current in single cells. 6. In human isolated mesenteric artery cells, BRL 38227 (10 microM) induced a glibenclamide-sensitive current similar to, but smaller than, that observed in the rabbit portal vein. 7. We conclude that in these cells, BRL 38227 activates a potassium conductance which has the electrophysiological and pharmacological characteristics of ATP-sensitive K+ channels.

Cromakalim does not act as a calcium antagonist in isolated human mesenteric artery cells.

The effects of cromakalim and its active enantiomer BRL 38226 on voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in smooth muscle cells isolated from human mesenteric arteries were studied using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. Neither of these drugs affected the Ca2+ channel current in these cells. These results suggest that the efficacy of cromakalim in lowering blood pressure in human beings does not involve a Ca2+ channel antagonistic effect.

Rabbit intestinal smooth muscle calcium current in solutions with physiological calcium concentration.

The calcium channel current in enzymatically isolated cells of the longitudinal muscle of rabbit jejunum was studied using the whole-cell voltage clamp technique. The current-voltage relationship was measured in cells held at potentials ranging from -90 to -30 mV in the presence of 1.5 mM-calcium or barium in order to test for the presence of multiple current components. The kinetics and current-voltage relationship of the current showed no evidence of a discrete low-threshold or 'transient' current. Measurable current was observed at -55 mV. Current availability was dependent on the holding potential but not on the test potential, suggesting the presence of only one type of calcium channel. A component of current persisted for at least 25 s following depolarization. Nifedipine reduced the Ca2+ current amplitude without shifting the current-voltage relationship; the degree of inhibition was enhanced by depolarization of the holding potential. The peak and sustained currents were similarly inhibited by nifedipine. The results indicate the presence of a single type of dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channel current which is partially activated at or near the physiological resting membrane potential of these cells.

Heterotetramer formation and charybdotoxin sensitivity of two K+ channels cloned from smooth muscle.

Delayed rectifier K+ channels are involved in the electrical activity of all excitable cells. The relationship between native K+ currents recorded from these cells and cloned K+ channel cDNAs has been difficult to ascertain partly because of contradictions in pharmacological characteristics between native and expressed currents. Through the study of the charybdotoxin (CTX) pharmacology of two cloned smooth muscle delayed rectifier K+ channels (cKv 1.2 and cKv1.5) expressed in oocytes, evidence for heterotetramer formation was obtained. We have shown that the presence of even a single CTX-insensitive subunit renders the heterotetrameric channel insensitive to CTX. The two K+ channel clones differ in an amino acid at the mouth of the pore region, which may be in a position to block the access of CTX to its binding site and hence determine CTX sensitivity of the heterotetrameric channel. These results may explain discrepancies reported between native and cloned smooth muscle K+ channels.

Block by 4-aminopyridine of a Kv1.2 delayed rectifier K+ current expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

1. The blocking action of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) on a delayed rectifier Kv1.2 K+ channel expressed in oocytes was investigated at room temperature (22 degrees C) and physiological temperature (34 degrees C) using the double-electrode voltage clamp and patch clamp techniques. 2. At room temperature, 4-AP (100 microM) inhibition occurred only after activation of current. The rate of onset of block was dependent upon the length of time current was activated by a depolarizing step. Similarly, removal of block required current activation. The degree of steady-state block by 4-AP was not reduced by increasingly more depolarized step potentials. The degree of steady-state block also did not change over the duration of a 1 s step. 3. When channels were nearly fully inactivated, 4-AP produced no additional block of a subsequent depolarizing step, suggesting that 4-AP did not bind when channels were in the inactivated state. In single channel experiments, 4-AP decreased the mean open time in a dose-dependent manner but did not alter the single-channel current amplitude. 4. At 34 degrees C the I-V relationship and inactivation curve shifted to more negative potentials. Increasing the temperature to 34 degrees C did not alter the degree of block by 4-AP, although the rate of onset of block was greatly enhanced. 5. Results suggest that 4-AP binds to the open state of the Kv1.2 channel and is trapped when the channel closes. 4-AP cannot bind when the channel is closed or inactivated prior to the addition of the drug. C-type inactivation and 4-AP binding to the channel are mutually exclusive. A model for the proposed mechanism of action of 4-AP on the Kv1.2 channel is proposed based on experimental data.

Cloning and characterization of a Kv1.5 delayed rectifier K+ channel from vascular and visceral smooth muscles.

We have cloned and characterized the expression of a Kv1.5 K+ channel (cKv1.5) from canine colonic smooth muscle. The amino acid sequence displayed a high level of identity to other K+ channels of the Kv1.5 class in the core region between transmembrane segments S1-S6; however, identity decreased to between 74 and 82% in the NH2 and COOH terminal segments, suggesting that cKv1.5 is a distinct isoform of the Kv1.5 class. Functional expression of cKv1.5 in oocytes demonstrated a channel highly selective for K+, which activates in a voltage-dependent manner on depolarization to membrane potentials positive to -40 mV. At room temperature the channel showed fast activation (time to half of peak current, 5.5 ms) and slow inactivation that was incomplete after 20-s depolarizations. Single channel analysis of the channel expressed in oocytes displayed a linear current-voltage curve and had a slope conductance of 9.8 +/- 1.1 pS. Northern blot analysis demonstrated differential expression of cKv1.5 in smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract and abundant expression in several vascular smooth muscles. We propose that cKv1.5 represents a component of the delayed rectifier current in both vascular and visceral smooth muscles.

Cloning and expression of a Kv1.2 class delayed rectifier K+ channel from canine colonic smooth muscle.

A cDNA (CSMK1) encoding a delayed rectifier K+ channel of the Kv1.2 class was cloned from canine colonic circular smooth muscle and expressed in Xenopus oocytes. These channels appear to be uniquely expressed in gastrointestinal muscles and may participate in the electrical slow wave activity. Functional expression of CSMK1 in Xenopus oocytes demonstrated a K+ current that activated in a voltage-dependent manner upon depolarization. This current was highly sensitive to 4-aminopyridine (IC50, 74 microM). A low-conductance K+ channel was identified in inside-out patches from oocytes injected with CSMK1. This channel displayed a linear current-voltage relation with a slope conductance of 14 pS. The channels were blocked in a concentration-dependent manner by 4-aminopyridine. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that CSMK1 is expressed in a wide variety of gastrointestinal smooth muscles. Portal vein, renal artery, and uterus do not express CSMK1, suggesting that, among smooth muscles, expression of this K+ channel may be restricted to gastrointestinal smooth muscles. CSMK1 is 91% homologous to RAK, a delayed rectifier K+ channel cloned from rat heart, but displays unique pharmacological properties and tissue distribution.