Publication Date:
2003-11-25
Description:
Calcium ion (Ca2+) influx through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels is important for the regulation of vascular tone. Activation of L-type Ca2+ channels initiates muscle contraction; however, the role of T-type Ca2+ channels (T-channels) is not clear. We show that mice deficient in the alpha1H T-type Ca2+ channel (alpha(1)3.2-null) have constitutively constricted coronary arterioles and focal myocardial fibrosis. Coronary arteries isolated from alpha(1)3.2-null arteries showed normal contractile responses, but reduced relaxation in response to acetylcholine and nitroprusside. Furthermore, acute blockade of T-channels with Ni2+ prevented relaxation of wild-type coronary arteries. Thus, Ca2+ influx through alpha1H T-type Ca2+ channels is essential for normal relaxation of coronary arteries.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Chen, Chien-Chang -- Lamping, Kathryn G -- Nuno, Daniel W -- Barresi, Rita -- Prouty, Sally J -- Lavoie, Julie L -- Cribbs, Leanne L -- England, Sarah K -- Sigmund, Curt D -- Weiss, Robert M -- Williamson, Roger A -- Hill, Joseph A -- Campbell, Kevin P -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2003 Nov 21;302(5649):1416-8.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14631046" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Acetylcholine/pharmacology
;
Animals
;
Arteries/drug effects/*physiology
;
Calcium/*metabolism
;
Calcium Channels, T-Type/genetics/*physiology
;
Coronary Vessels/drug effects/pathology/*physiology
;
Echocardiography
;
Electrocardiography
;
Endothelium, Vascular/drug effects/physiology
;
Female
;
Fibrosis
;
Ganglia, Spinal/cytology
;
Gene Targeting
;
Heart/physiology
;
Heart Rate
;
Male
;
Mice
;
Mice, Inbred C57BL
;
Mice, Knockout
;
Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/physiology
;
Myocardium/pathology
;
Neurons/metabolism
;
Nickel/pharmacology
;
Nitric Oxide/physiology
;
Nitric Oxide Donors/pharmacology
;
Nitroprusside/pharmacology
;
Patch-Clamp Techniques
;
Vasoconstriction/drug effects
;
*Vasodilation/drug effects
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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