Effects of docosahexenoic acid on large conductance Ca+-activated K+ channels in retinal smooth muscle cells

Objective To investigate the effects of docosahexenoic acid (DHA) on large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels in normal retinal artery smooth muscle cells (RASMCs). Methods Cultured human RASMCs (6 th-8 th generations) were used to patch clamp experiment. The open probabihties (NP0) in BK channels with different concentrations (0.0, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 μmol/L) of DHA were recorded by patch clamp technique in single channel configuration. RASMCs were intervened by different concentrations (0.0, 1.0, 5.0 μmol/L) of DHA as control group, low and high doses of DHA groups, respectively. The protein expressions of β subunit of BK channels in RASMCs from three groups were measured by Western blot. Results The NP0 of BK channels were 0.044 4±0.001 2, 0.081 2±0.004 2, 0.209 0±0.006 1, 0.310 5±0.005 3, 0.465 0±0.007 8 and 0.497 7±0.014 5 with perfusate of 0.0, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 μmol/L DHA. DHA activated BK channels in a dose-dependent manner (F=2.621, P 0.05). Conclusion DHA can directly activate BK channels, no increasing in subunit expression of BK channels. Key words: Docosahexaenoic acids; Retinal artery; Myocytes, smooth muscle; Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels; Patch-clamp techniques