Dataset Information

BK large conductance Ca²+-activated K+ channel-deficient mice are not resistant to hypotension and display reduced survival benefit following polymicrobial sepsis.

ABSTRACT: Nitric oxide-mediated activation of large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels is considered an important underlying mechanism of sepsis-induced hypotension. Indeed, the nonselective K-channel inhibitor, tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA), has been proposed as a potential treatment to raise blood pressure in septic shock by virtue of its ability to inhibit BK channels. As experimental evidence has so far relied on pharmacological inhibition, we examined the effects of channel deletion using BK? subunit knockout (?, Slo) mice in two mouse models of polymicrobial sepsis, namely, intraperitoneal fecal slurry and cecal ligation and puncture. Comparison was made against TEA treatment in wild-type (WT) mice. Following slurry, BK? and WT mice developed similar degrees of hypotension over 10 h with no difference in cardiac output as assessed by echocardiography between groups. Tetraethylammonium chloride raised blood pressure significantly in septic WT mice, but had no effect on survival. However, following cecal ligation and puncture, a significantly reduced survival was seen in both BK? mice and (high-dose) TEA-treated WT mice compared with untreated WT animals. In conclusion, the BK channel does not appear to be integral to sepsis-induced hypotension but does affect survival through other mechanisms. The pressor effect of TEA may be related to effects on other potassium channels.

SUBMITTER: O'Brien AJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3079605 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

BK large conductance Ca²+-activated K+ channel-deficient mice are not resistant to hypotension and display reduced survival benefit following polymicrobial sepsis.

O'Brien Alastair J AJ Terala Deepti D Orie Nelson N NN Davies Nathan A NA Zolfaghari Parjam P Singer Mervyn M Clapp Lucie H LH

Shock (Augusta, Ga.) 20110501 5

Nitric oxide-mediated activation of large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels is considered an important underlying mechanism of sepsis-induced hypotension. Indeed, the nonselective K-channel inhibitor, tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA), has been proposed as a potential treatment to raise blood pressure in septic shock by virtue of its ability to inhibit BK channels. As experimental evidence has so far relied on pharmacological inhibition, we examined the effects of channel del ...[more]

PMID: 21330953

Similar Datasets

Project description:The internal vestibule of large-conductance Ca(2+) voltage-activated K(+) (BK) channels contains a ring of eight negative charges not present in K(+) channels of lower conductance (Glu386 and Glu389 in hSlo) that modulates channel conductance through an electrostatic mechanism (Brelidze, T.I., X. Niu, and K.L. Magleby. 2003. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100:9017-9022). In BK channels there are also two acidic amino acid residues in an extracellular loop (Asp326 and Glu329 in hSlo). To determine the electrostatic influence of these charges on channel conductance, we expressed wild-type BK channels and mutants E386N/E389N, D326N, E329Q, and D326N/E329Q channels on Xenopus laevis oocytes, and measured the expressed currents under patch clamp. Contribution of E329 to the conductance is negligible and single channel conductance of D326N/E329Q channels measured at 0 mV in symmetrical 110 mM K(+) was 18% lower than the control. Current-voltage curves displayed weak outward rectification for D326N and the double mutant. The conductance differences between the mutants and wild-type BK were caused by an electrostatic effect since they were enhanced at low K(+) (30 mM) and vanished at high K(+) (1 M K(+)). We determine the electrostatic potential change, Deltaphi, caused by the charge neutralization using TEA(+) block for the extracellular charges and Ba(2+) for intracellular charges. We measured 13 +/- 2 mV for Deltaphi at the TEA(+) site when turning off the extracellular charges, and 17 +/- 2 mV for the Deltaphi at the Ba(2+) site when the intracellular charges were turned off. To understand the electrostatic effect of charge neutralizations, we determined Deltaphi using a BK channel molecular model embedded in a lipid bilayer and solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The model explains the experimental results adequately and, in particular, gives an economical explanation to the differential effect on the conductance of the neutralization of charges D326 and E329.

Dataset Information

BK large conductance Ca²+-activated K+ channel-deficient mice are not resistant to hypotension and display reduced survival benefit following polymicrobial sepsis.

Publications

BK large conductance Ca²+-activated K+ channel-deficient mice are not resistant to hypotension and display reduced survival benefit following polymicrobial sepsis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure