title: Developmental differences in Ca2+-activated K+ channel activity in ovine basilar artery.
abstract: A primary determinant of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) tone and contractility is the resting membrane potential, which, in turn, is influenced heavily by K+ channel activity. Previous studies from our laboratory and others have demonstrated differences in the contractility of cerebral arteries from near-term fetal and adult animals. To test the hypothesis that these contractility differences result from maturational changes in voltage-gated K+ channel function, we compared this function in VSM myocytes from adult and fetal sheep cerebral arteries. The primary current-carrying, voltage-gated K+ channels in VSM myocytes are the large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (BKCa) and voltage-activated K+ (KV) channels. We observed that at voltage-clamped membrane potentials of +60 mV in perforated whole cell studies, the normalized outward current densities in fetal myocytes were >30% higher than in those of the adult (P < 0.05) and that these were predominantly due to iberiotoxin-sensitive currents from BKCa channels. Excised, insideout membrane patches revealed nearly identical unitary conductances and Hill coefficients for BKCa channels. The plot of log intracellular [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) versus voltage for half-maximal activation (V(1/2)) yielded linear and parallel relationships, and the change in V(1/2) for a 10-fold change in [Ca2+] was also similar. Channel activity increased e-fold for a 19 +/- 2-mV depolarization for adult myocytes and for an 18 +/- 1-mV depolarization for fetal myocytes (P > 0.05). However, the relationship between BKCa open probability and membrane potential had a relative leftward shift for the fetal compared with adult myocytes at different [Ca2+]i. The [Ca2+] for half-maximal activation (i.e., the calcium set points) at 0 mV were 8.8 and 4.7 microM for adult and fetal myocytes, respectively. Thus the increased BKCa current density in fetal myocytes appears to result from a lower calcium set point.
authors.affiliation: Center for Perinatal Biology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.
authors.forename: Mike T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hessinger
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: Lawrence D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Longo
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D010455:Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated; C064719:iberiotoxin; D015761:4-Aminopyridine; D002118:Calcium