Defective colonic Na(+) and Cl(-) absorption is a feature of active ulcerative colitis (UC), but little is known about changes in colonic K(+) transport. We therefore investigated colonic K(+) transport in a rat model of dextran sulfate-induced colitis. Colitis was induced in rat distal colon using 5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Short-circuit current (Isc, indicating electrogenic ion transpor...

The Ca2+-activated, maxi-K (BK) K+ channel, with low Ca2+-binding affinity, is expressed in the distal tubule of the nephron and contributes to flow-dependent K+ secretion. In the present study we demonstrate that the Ca2+-activated, SK3 (KCa2.3) K+ channel, with high Ca2+-binding affinity, is also expressed in the mouse kidney (RT-PCR, immunoblots). Immunohistochemical evaluations using tubule...

Gender associated differences in vascular reactivity regulation might contribute to the low incidence of cardiovascular disease in women. Cardiovascular protection is suggested to depend on female sex hormones' effects on endothelial function and vascular tone regulation. We tested the hypothesis that potassium (K+) channels and Na+K+-ATPase may be involved in the gender-based vascular reactivi...

To test the hypothesis that protein kinase C (PKC) -induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) underlie the vascular dysfunction in diabetes, we examined the effects of (S)-13[(dimethylamino)methyl]-10,11–14,15-tetrahydro-4,9:16,21-dimetheno-1H,13Hdibenzo[e,k]pyrrolo[3,4-h][1,4,13]oxadi-azacyclohexadecene1,3(2H)-dione (LY333531; LY), a specific PKC inhibitor, on arachidonic acid (AA)-mediated dilati...

We tested the hypothesis that an abnormal function of K channels in vascular smooth muscle cells plays a key role in the impaired acetylcholine (ACh) vasodilation in aortas from two kidney-one clip (2K-1C) hypertensive rats and further investigated the K channel subtype involved in this altered response. ACh-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation was assessed in aortic rings from 2K-1C and no...

Cardiovascular sensitivity to general anesthetics is highly variable among individuals in both human and animal models, but little is known about the genetic determinants of drug response to anesthetics. Recently, we reported that propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) causes circulatory instability in Dahl salt-sensitive SS/JRHsdMcwi (SS) rats but not in Brown Norway BN/ NHsdMcwi (BN) rats and that ...