Cytoprotective properties of potassium channel openers (KCOs) have been demonstrated in several models of cell injury, mainly in ischemia-reperfusion-induced damage of cardiac muscle. The mechanism responsible for the observed cytoprotection and the relative contribution of plasma membrane or inner mitochondrial membrane potassium channels regarding the beneficial effects exerted by KCOs remain...

Large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels are composed of pore-forming α-subunits and accessory β1-subunits that modulate Ca2+ sensitivity. BK channels regulate arterial myogenic tone and renal Na+ clearance/K+ reabsorption. Previous studies using indirect or short-term blood pressure measurements found that BK channel β1-subunit knockout (BK β1-KO) mice were hypertensive. We evaluated ...

RATIONALE Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) regulates vascular tone in the human microcirculation under physiological and pathophysiological conditions. It dilates arterioles by activating large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels in subjects with coronary artery disease (CAD), but its mechanisms of action in subjects without CAD (non-CAD) when compared with those with CAD remain unknown. OBJECTIVE...

Bednarczyk P, Koziel A, Jarmuszkiewicz W, Szewczyk A. Large-conductance Ca -activated potassium channel in mitochondria of endothelial EA.hy926 cells. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 304: H1415–H1427, 2013. First published March 29, 2013; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00976.2012.—In the present study, we describe the existence of a large-conductance Ca -activated potassium (BKCa) channel in the mitochon...

In the present study, we describe the existence of a large-conductance Ca²⁺-activated potassium (BKCa) channel in the mitochondria of the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926. A single-channel current was recorded from endothelial mitoplasts (i.e., inner mitochondrial membrane) using the patch-clamp technique in the mitoplast-attached mode. A potassium-selective current was recorded with a mean...

The actions of the endogenous peptide nociceptin (PNOC; previously abbreviated as N/OFQ) on the myometrium have not been investigated previously. Our aim was to study the presence and functional role of PNOC in the modulation of uterine contractility in pregnant rats at term. The presence of PNOC and its receptors (OPRL1; previously called NOP) in the uterus were detected by radioimmunoassay an...

Grazing of Echinopogon spp. by livestock in Australia has caused symptoms similar to those of perennial ryegrass staggers. We observed an endophytic fungus in the intercellular spaces of the leaves and seeds of New Zealand and Australian specimens of Echinopogon ovatus. Culture of surface-sterilized seeds from New Zealand specimens yielded a slow-growing fungus. An examination in which immunobl...

Principal neurons in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) exhibit a continuum of firing properties in response to prolonged current injections ranging from those that accommodate fully to those that fire repetitively. In most cells, trains of action potentials are followed by a slow afterhyperpolarization (AHP) lasting several seconds. Reducing calcium influx either by lowering concentratio...