From cells to organism: impact of dyslipidemia on inwardly rectifying K⁺ channels and cerebral vascular function.

ABSTRACT: Evidence increasingly suggests that dyslipidemia diminishes dilatory function of resistance arteries by altering ion channel activity. Focusing on the cerebral vasculature, this study investigated whether inwardly rectifying K⁺ 2.1 (K_IR2.1) channels are targeted early in dyslipidemia. Experiments began at the cellular level (patch-clamp electrophysiology), then progressed to isolated arteries (pressure myography) and whole animals (arterial spin-labeling magnetic resonance imaging). Lipid analysis confirmed dyslipidemia in Ldlr^-/- (normal chow) and C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet for 8 weeks; no aortic plaques were observed. Patch-clamp electrophysiology revealed a marked reduction in endothelial but not smooth muscle K_I

SUBMITTER: Kowalewska PM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12685731 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature