title: Heterogeneous composition of voltage-dependent K(+) currents in hepatic stellate cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are a type of pericyte with varying characteristics according to their location. However, the electrophysiological properties of HSC are not completely understood. Therefore, this study investigated the difference in the voltage-dependent K(+) currents in HSC.
  
  
  METHODS
  The voltage-dependent K(+) currents in rat HSC were evaluated using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four different types of voltage-dependent K(+) currents in HSC were identified based on the outward and inward K(+) currents. Type D had the dominant delayed rectifier K(+) current, and type A had the dominant transient outward K(+) current. Type I had an inwardly rectifying K(+) current, whereas the non-type I did not. TEA (5 mM) and 4-AP (2 mM) suppressed the outward K(+) currents differentially in type D and A. Changing the holding potential from -80 to -40 mV reduced the amplitude of the transient outward K(+) currents in type A. The inwardly rectifying K(+) currents either declined markedly or were sustained in type I during the hyperpolarizing step pulses from -120 to -150 mV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are four different configurations of voltage-dependent K(+) currents expressed in cultured HSC. These results are expected to provide information that will help determine the properties of the K(+) currents in HSC as well as the different type HSC populations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biobank for Health Sciences, Korea National Institute of Health, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 194 Tongil-ro, Eunpyung-gu, Seoul 122-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hyeon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kuchan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimm
authors.forename: Hyung-Lae
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Bok Ghee
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004553:Electric Conductivity / Q000145:classification; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D017136:Ion Transport; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated