Differential Functional Contribution of BK Channel Subunits to Aldosterone-Induced Channel Activation in Vascular Smooth Muscle and Eventual Cerebral Artery Dilation.

ABSTRACT: Calcium/voltage-activated potassium channels (BK) control smooth muscle (SM) tone and cerebral artery diameter. They include channel-forming α and regulatory β₁ subunits, the latter being highly expressed in SM. Both subunits participate in steroid-induced modification of BK activity: β₁ provides recognition for estradiol and cholanes, resulting in BK potentiation, whereas α suffices for BK inhibition by cholesterol or pregnenolone. Aldosterone can modify cerebral artery function independently of its effects outside the brain, yet BK involvement in aldosterone's cerebrovascular action and identification of channel subunits, possibly involved in steroid action, remains uninvestigated. Using microscale thermophoresis, we demonstrated that each subunit type presents two

SUBMITTER: Mysiewicz SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10218309 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature