Mechanisms of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release induced by P2X receptor activation in mesenteric artery myocytes

Dilation of Pregnant Rat Uterine Arteries with Phenols from Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Endothelium-Dependent and Involves Calcium and Potassium Channels

During pregnancy, uterine vasculature undergoes significant circumferential growth to increase uterine blood flow, vital for the growing feto-placental unit. However, this process is often compromised in conditions like maternal high blood pressure, particularly in preeclampsia (PE), leading to fetal growth impairment. Currently, there is no cure for PE, partly due to the adverse effects of anti-hypertensive drugs on maternal and fetal health. This study aimed to investigate the vasodilator effect of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) phenols on the reproductive vasculature, potentially benefiting both mother and fetus. Isolated uterine arteries (UAs) from pregnant rats were tested with EVOO phenols in a pressurized myograph. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, additional experiments were conducted with specific inhibitors: L-NAME/L-NNA (10-4 M) for nitric oxide synthases, ODQ (10-5 M) for guanylate cyclase, Verapamil (10-5 M) for the L-type calcium channel, Ryanodine (10-5 M) + 2-APB (3 × 10-5 M) for ryanodine and the inositol triphosphate receptors, respectively, and Paxilline (10-5 M) for the large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel. The results indicated that EVOO-phenols activate Ca2+ signaling pathways, generating nitric oxide, inducing vasodilation via cGMP and BKCa2+ signals in smooth muscle cells. This study suggests the potential use of EVOO phenols to prevent utero-placental blood flow restriction, offering a promising avenue for managing PE.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Phenols Vasodilate Rat MesentericResistance Artery via Phospholipase C (PLC)-CalciumMicrodomains-Potassium Channels (BKCa) Signals

Recent evidence suggests that the reason Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of developing hypertension is partly due to minor components of EVOO, such as phenols. However, little is still known about the mechanism(s) through which EVOO phenols mediate anti-hypertensive effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanisms of action of EVOO phenols on mesenteric resistance arteries. A pressure myograph was used to test the effect of EVOO phenols on isolated mesenteric arteries in the presence of specific inhibitors of: 1) BKca channels (Paxillin, 10-5 M); 2) L-type calcium channels (Verapamil, 10-5 M); 3) Ryanodine receptor, RyR (Ryanodine, 10-5 M); 4) inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor, IP3R, (2-Aminoethyl diphenylborinate, 2-APB, 3 × 10-3 M); 5) phospholipase C, PLC, (U73122, 10-5 M), and 6) GPCR-Gαi signaling, (Pertussis Toxin, 10-5 M). EVOO phenols induced vasodilation of mesenteric arteries in a dose-dependent manner, and this effect was reduced by pre-incubation with Paxillin, Verapamil, Ryanodine, 2-APB, U73122, and Pertussis Toxin. Our data suggest that EVOO phenol-mediated vasodilation requires activation of BKca channels potentially through a local increase of subcellular calcium microdomains, a pivotal mechanism on the base of artery vasodilation. These findings provide novel mechanistic insights for understanding the vasodilatory properties of EVOO phenols on resistance arteries.

Smooth Muscle Ion Channels and Regulation of Vascular Tone in Resistance Arteries and Arterioles

Vascular tone of resistance arteries and arterioles determines peripheral vascular resistance, contributing to the regulation of blood pressure and blood flow to, and within the body's tissues and organs. Ion channels in the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in these blood vessels importantly contribute to the regulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration, the primary determinant of SMC contractile activity and vascular tone. Ion channels provide the main source of activator Ca2+ that determines vascular tone, and strongly contribute to setting and regulating membrane potential, which, in turn, regulates the open-state-probability of voltage gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs), the primary source of Ca2+ in resistance artery and arteriolar SMCs. Ion channel function is also modulated by vasoconstrictors and vasodilators, contributing to all aspects of the regulation of vascular tone. This review will focus on the physiology of VGCCs, voltage-gated K+ (KV) channels, large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BKCa) channels, strong-inward-rectifier K+ (KIR) channels, ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels, ryanodine receptors (RyRs), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs), and a variety of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels that contribute to pressure-induced myogenic tone in resistance arteries and arterioles, the modulation of the function of these ion channels by vasoconstrictors and vasodilators, their role in the functional regulation of tissue blood flow and their dysfunction in diseases such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 7:485-581, 2017.

Cardiac expression of ryanodine receptor subtype 3; a strategic component in the intracellular Ca2+ release system of Purkinje fibers in large mammalian heart

BACKGROUND

Three distinct Ca²⁺ release channels were identified in dog P-cells: the ryanodine receptor subtype 2 (RyR2) was detected throughout the cell, while the ryanodine receptor subtype 3 (RyR3) and inositol phosphate sensitive Ca²⁺ release channel (InsP3R) were found in the cell periphery. How each of these channels contributes to the Ca²⁺ cycling of P-cells is unclear. Recent modeling of Ca²⁺ mobilization in P-cells suggested that Ca²⁺ sensitivity of Ca²⁺induced Ca²⁺release (CICR) was larger at the P-cell periphery. Our study examined whether this numerically predicted region of Ca²⁺ release exists in live P-cells. We compared the regional Ca²⁺ dynamics with the arrangement of intracellular Ca²⁺ release (CR) channels.

METHODS

Gene expression of CR channels was measured by qPCR in Purkinje fibers and myocardium of adult Yucatan pig hearts. We characterized the CR channels protein expression in isolated P-cells by immuno-fluorescence, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and 3D reconstruction. The spontaneous Ca²⁺ activity and electrically-evoked Ca²⁺ mobilization were imaged by 2D spinning disk confocal microscopy. Functional regions of P-cell were differentiated by the characteristics of local Ca²⁺ events. We used the Ca²⁺ propagation velocities as indicators of channel Ca²⁺ sensitivity.

RESULTS

RyR2 gene expression was identical in Purkinje fibers and myocardium (6 hearts) while RyR3 and InsP₃R gene expressions were, respectively, 100 and 16 times larger in the Purkinje fibers. Specific fluorescent immuno-staining of Ca²⁺ release channels revealed an intermediate layer of RyR3 expression between a near-membrane InsP3R-region and a central RyR2-region. We found that cell periphery produced two distinct forms of spontaneous Ca²⁺-transients: (1) large asymmetrical Ca²⁺ sparks under the membrane, and (2) typical Ca²⁺-wavelets propagating exclusively around the core of the cell. Larger cell-wide Ca²⁺ waves (CWWs) appeared occasionally traveling in the longitudinal direction through the core of Pcells. Large sparks arose in a micrometric space overlapping the InsP3R expression. The InsP3R antagonists 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB; 3μM) and xestospongin C (XeC; 50μM) dramatically reduced their frequency. The Ca²⁺ wavelets propagated in a 5-10μm thick layered space which matched the intermediate zone of RyR3 expression. The wavelet incidence was unchanged by 2-APB or XeC, but was reduced by 60% in presence of the RyR3 antagonist dantrolene (10μM). The velocity of wavelets was two times larger (86±16μm/s; n=14) compared to CWWs' (46±10μm/s; n=11; P<0.05). Electric stimulation triggered a uniform and large elevation of Ca²⁺ concentration under the membrane which preceded the propagation of Ca²⁺ into the interior of the cell. Elevated Ca_i propagated at 150μm/s (147±34μm/s; n=5) through the region equivalent to the zone of RyR3 expression. This velocity dropped by 50% (75±24μm/s; n=5) in the central region wherein predominant RyR2 expression was detected.

CONCLUSION

We identified two layers of distinct Ca²⁺ release channels in the periphery of Pcell: an outer layer of InsP₃Rs under the membrane and an inner layer of RyR3s. The propagation of Ca²⁺ events in these layers revealed that Ca²⁺ sensitivity of Ca²⁺ release was larger in the RyR3 layer compared to that of other sub-cellular regions. We propose that RyR3 expression in P-cells plays a role in the stability of electric function of Purkinje fibers.