Identification, Characterization and Function of Voltage-Gated and Two-Pore-Domain Potassium Channels in the Mouse Myometrium.
type: CreativeWork
description: I am interested in the contractility and electrical excitability in the uterus at the level of individual uterine myocytes throughout gestation. 1 believe by determining potential targets for functional changes in uterine excitability I may be able to uncover the key player(s) in the regulation of resting membrane potential, the onset of labor, and thus uterine contractility. Potassium currents play important roles in the regulation of contraction in many muscles, including cardiac and visceral smooth muscle. By virtue of their ability to set resting membrane potential and exert inhibitory effects, the alterations in outward currents carried by voltage-gated (Kv) and two-pore-domain (K2P) potassium channels are key points of regulation in many excitable cells. Despite these facts little is known about the role of Kv or K2P potassium channels in the regulation of uterine contractility, and certainly nothing is known about the possible involvement of ß subunits and accessory proteins in the regulation of Kv channels and currents in myometrium from any species.|I have observed a potent contractile effect of the Kv channel blocker 4- aminopyridine (4-AP) in nonpregnant mouse myometrium, a response which is not mediated by nerves, the endometrium, or the large-conductance, voltage-activated potassium (BK) channel, and which disappears entirely in term pregnant myometrium. I have begun to explore the possibility that Kv channels play a role in uterine contractility. I have found numerous Kv channel a subunits expressed in nonpregnant mouse myometrium, including several known to be sensitive to 4-AP blockade. Furthermore, almost all of these Kv channel a subunits are expressed in the term-pregnant myometrium, except for Kv4.3 which disappears in term pregnant tissues, coincident with a loss in transient outward current (A-type) known to be carried by certain Kv channels including Kv4.3. In addition to these findings we have also uncovered a dramatic reduction in two of the…
abstract: I am interested in the contractility and electrical excitability in the uterus at the level of individual uterine myocytes throughout gestation. 1 believe by determining potential targets for functional changes in uterine excitability I may be able to uncover the key player(s) in the regulation of resting membrane potential, the onset of labor, and thus uterine contractility. Potassium currents play important roles in the regulation of contraction in many muscles, including cardiac and visceral smooth muscle. By virtue of their ability to set resting membrane potential and exert inhibitory effects, the alterations in outward currents carried by voltage-gated (Kv) and two-pore-domain (K2P) potassium channels are key points of regulation in many excitable cells. Despite these facts little is known about the role of Kv or K2P potassium channels in the regulation of uterine contractility, and certainly nothing is known about the possible involvement of ß subunits and accessory proteins in the regulation of Kv channels and currents in myometrium from any species.|I have observed a potent contractile effect of the Kv channel blocker 4- aminopyridine (4-AP) in nonpregnant mouse myometrium, a response which is not mediated by nerves, the endometrium, or the large-conductance, voltage-activated potassium (BK) channel, and which disappears entirely in term pregnant myometrium. I have begun to explore the possibility that Kv channels play a role in uterine contractility. I have found numerous Kv channel a subunits expressed in nonpregnant mouse myometrium, including several known to be sensitive to 4-AP blockade. Furthermore, almost all of these Kv channel a subunits are expressed in the term-pregnant myometrium, except for Kv4.3 which disappears in term pregnant tissues, coincident with a loss in transient outward current (A-type) known to be carried by certain Kv channels including Kv4.3. In addition to these findings we have also uncovered a dramatic reduction in two of the…
author: Smith, Ryan C.
language: en_US
date published: 2007
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:51:52Z
provider: Creighton University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Creighton University

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property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10504/55716