Abstract
Despite increasing knowledge of the significance of calcium-activated potassium (KCa) and canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels in endothelial physiology, no studies so far have investigated the link between these two distinct types of channels in the control of vascular tone in pathological conditions. We previously demonstrated that hypoxia-reoxygenation (H-R) inhibits endothelial KCa and TRPC3 channels in porcine coronary arteries (PCAs). The present study further investigated whether modulation of TRPC3 is involved in H-R-induced KCa channel inhibition and associated vasodilatory dysfunction using approaches of wire myography, whole-cell voltage-clamp, and coimmunoprecipitation. Pharmacological inhibition or siRNA silencing of TRPC3 significantly suppressed bradykinin-induced intermediate- and small-conductance KCa (IKCa and SKCa) currents in endothelial cells of PCAs (PCAECs). TRPC3 protein exists in physical association with neither IKCa nor SKCa. In H-R-exposed PCAECs, the response of IKCa and SKCa to bradykinin-stimulation and to TRPC3-inhibition was markedly weakened. Activation of TRPC3 channels restored H-R-suppressed KCa currents in association with an improved endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-type vasorelaxation. We conclude that inhibition of TRPC3 channels contributes to H-R-induced suppression of KCa channel activity, which serves as a mechanism underlying coronary endothelial dysfunction in ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury and renders TRPC3 a potential target for endothelial protection in I-R conditions.