Biomedical Research

This study aimed to study the expression of BKca in mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells in patients with Preeclampsia (PE), and to explore the relationship between BKca electrophysiological activity and PE. Human mesenteric smooth muscle cells with good activity were obtained by acute enzyme method. The BKCa current was recorded by single channel patch clamp technique. Higher quality cells required for experiments were obtained, and the recorded channel currents were in accordance with the general properties of BKca. Under the cell-attached patch, when the voltage was clamped at +40 mv, +50 mv, +60 mv, the opening Probability (Po) of PE group was significantly lower than that of the normal pregnancy group, and the difference was statistically significant (n=20, p<0.05). Under the inside-out patch, the Po of PE group was significantly lower than that of the normal pregnancy group, and the difference was statistically significant (n=20, p<0.05). Under the inside-out patch, when the membrane potential was +40 mv, the bath by adding different concentrations of free Ca²⁺ (10^-8 M, 10^-7 M, 10^-6 M and 10^-5 M), the sensitivity of PE group to Ca²⁺ concentration was significantly lower than that of the normal pregnancy group (n=20, p<0.05). The activity of BKca in mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells of preeclamptic patients was weakened. Our findings suggested that the changes of BKca channel activity in mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells were related to the occurrence of PE.

Author(s): Hua Zhong, Wei Liu, Yanjiao Li, Jing Wen, Yan Zhu, Xiaoyu Hou, Li Liu, Xiaodong Fu
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