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Departments of Physiology (G.T., R.W.) and Pharmacology (L.W.), College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Abstract
Hydroxylamine (HA) is a putative intermediate in the conversion of L-arginine to nitric oxide (NO). HA was reported to cause the relaxation of precontracted aorta strips; however, the ionic mechanisms of HA-induced vasorelaxation were not yet known. In the present study, the whole-cell patch-clamp technique was used to examine the effects of HA on ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) currents and membrane potentials in vascular smooth muscle cells from rat mesenteric arteries and underlying mechanisms. It was found that bath-applied HA reversibly enhanced KATP currents in a concentration-dependent fashion with an EC50 of 54 ± 3.4 µM and hyperpolarized the cell membrane from 48 ± 5.2 to 65 ± 7.5 mV (n = 6, p < 0.01). The increase in KATP currents induced by HA was suppressed by superoxide dismutase (380 ± 45 to 160 ± 20 pA, n = 4, p < 0.01) and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (385 ± 55 to 150 ± 16 pA, n = 5, p < 0.01), indicating the involvement of different free radicals, including superoxide anion. Hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase increased not only basal KATP currents, but also HA-enhanced KATP currents (from 355 ± 40 to 480 ± 62 pA, n = 6, p < 0.05). Sodium nitroprusside, a spontaneous NO donor, and a membrane-permeable cGMP analog (8-bromo-cGMP) were without effects on HA-enhanced KATP currents or basal KATP currents. Our results indicate that HA augmented KATP channel activity and hyperpolarized cell membrane, possibly via increased free radical generation.
Received for publication November 5, 2004.
Accepted for publication February 16, 2005.
Address correspondence to: Dr. Rui Wang, FAHA, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 107 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada. E-mail: rui.wang{at}lakeheadu.ca
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