title: Nitric oxide directly activates calcium-activated potassium channels from rat brain reconstituted into planar lipid bilayer.
abstract: Using the planar lipid bilayer technique, we tested whether NO directly activates calcium-activated potassium (Maxi-K) channels isolated from rat brain. We used streptozotocin (STZ) as NO donor, and the NO release was controlled with light. In the presence of 100-800 microM STZ, the Maxi-K channel activity increased up to 3-fold within several tens of seconds after the light was on, and reversed to the control level several minutes after shutting off the light. Similar activation was observed with other NO donors such as S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine and sodium nitroprusside. The degree of activity increase was dependent upon the initial open probability (P[init]). When the P(init) was lower, the activity increase was greater. These results demonstrate that NO can directly affect the Maxi-K channel activity, and suggest that the Maxi-K channel might be one of the physiological targets of NO in brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Inha University College of Medicine, Inchon, South Korea. shinjh@munhak.inha.ac.kr
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Uhm
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Suh
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000737:chemistry*; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D008027:Light; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D009599:Nitroprusside / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D010396:Penicillamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated; D051381:Rats; D026423:S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine; D013311:Streptozocin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes; D015221:Potassium Channels; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated; D009599:Nitroprusside; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D013311:Streptozocin; D026423:S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine; D010396:Penicillamine; D002118:Calcium