CaV1.2/CaV3.x channels mediate divergent vasomotor responses in human cerebral arteries.

ABSTRACT: The regulation of arterial tone is critical in the spatial and temporal control of cerebral blood flow. Voltage-gated Ca(2+) (CaV) channels are key regulators of excitation-contraction coupling in arterial smooth muscle, and thereby of arterial tone. Although L- and T-type CaV channels have been identified in rodent smooth muscle, little is known about the expression and function of specific CaV subtypes in human arteries. Here, we determined which CaV subtypes are present in human cerebral arteries and defined their roles in determining arterial tone. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis, respectively, identified mRNA and protein for L- and T-type channels in smooth muscle of cerebral arteries harvested from patients undergoing resection surgery. Analogous to r

SUBMITTER: Harraz OF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4411256 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature