Oxytocin can regulate myometrial smooth muscle excitability by inhibiting the Na+ -activated K+ channel, Slo2.1

Autor: Alice Butler, Richard S. Stewart, Chinwendu Amazu, Erin L. Reinl, Juan J. Ferreira, Ana Laura González-Cota, Lawrence Salkoff, Sarah K. England, Pascale Lybaert, Monali Wakle-Prabagaran, Celia Cm Santi
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of physiology, 597 (1
Popis: At the end of pregnancy, the uterus transitions from a quiescent state to a highly contractile state. This transition requires that the uterine (myometrial) smooth muscle cells increase their excitability, although how this occurs is not fully understood. We identified SLO2.1, a potassium channel previously unknown in uterine smooth muscle, as a potential significant contributor to the electrical excitability of myometrial smooth muscle cells. We found that activity of the SLO2.1 channel is negatively regulated by oxytocin via Gαq-protein-coupled receptor activation of protein kinase C. This results in depolarization of the uterine smooth muscle cells and calcium entry, which may contribute to uterine contraction. These findings provide novel insights into a previously unknown mechanism by which oxytocin may act to modulate myometrial smooth muscle cell excitability. Our findings also reveal a new potential pharmacological target for modulating uterine excitability.
info:eu-repo/semantics/published
Databáze: OpenAIRE