Artéria mesenterica paper

Experimental Biology and Medicine
Role of potassium channels in coronary vasodilation Gregory M Dick and Johnathan D Tune Experimental Biology and Medicine 2010, 235:10-22. doi: 10.1258/ebm.2009.009201

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Role of potassium channels in coronary vasodilation
Gregory M Dick1 and Johnathan D Tune2
Department of Exercise Physiology and Center for Cardiovascular & Respiratory Sciences, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV 26506; 2Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA Corresponding author: Gregory M Dick, West Virginia University, 1 Medical Center Drive, PO Box 9105, Morgantown, WV 26506-9105, USA. Email: [e-mail] (alternate: [e-mail])
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Abstract
Kþ channels in coronary arterial smooth muscle cells (CASMC) determine the resting membrane potential (Em) and serve as targets of endogenous and therapeutic vasodilators. Em in CASMC is in the voltage range for activation of L-type Ca2þ channels; therefore, when Kþ channel activity changes, Ca2þ influx and arterial tone change. This is why both Ca2þ channel blockers and Kþ channel openers have such profound effects on coronary blood flow; the former directly inhibits Ca2þ influx through L-type Ca2þ channels, while the latter indirectly inhibits Ca2þ influx by hyperpolarizing Em and reducing Ca2þ channel activity. Kþ channels in CASMC play important roles in vasodilation to endothelial, ischemic and metabolic stimuli. The purpose of