Dynamic regulation of β1 subunit trafficking controls vascular contractility.

ABSTRACT: Ion channels composed of pore-forming and auxiliary subunits control physiological functions in virtually all cell types. A conventional view is that channels assemble with their auxiliary subunits before anterograde plasma membrane trafficking of the protein complex. Whether the multisubunit composition of surface channels is fixed following protein synthesis or flexible and open to acute and, potentially, rapid modulation to control activity and cellular excitability is unclear. Arterial smooth muscle cells (myocytes) express large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium (BK) channel α and auxiliary β1 subunits that are functionally significant modulators of arterial contractility. Here, we show that native BKα subunits are primarily (∼95%) plasma membrane-localized in human and rat arter

SUBMITTER: Leo MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3926029 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature