Pro-inflammatory cytokines drive deregulation of potassium channel expression in primary synovial fibroblasts

Abstract The synovium secretes synovial fluid, but is also richly innervated with nociceptors and acts as a gateway between avascular joint tissues and the circulatory system. Resident fibroblast-like synoviocytes’ (FLS) calcium-activated potassium channels (KCa) change in activity in arthritis models and this correlates with FLS activation. Objective: To investigate this activation in an in vitro model of inflammatory arthritis; 72 h treatment with cytokines TNFα and IL1β. Methods: FLS cells were isolated from rat synovial membranes. We analyzed global changes in FLS mRNA by RNA-sequencing, then focused on FLS ion channel genes and the corresponding FLS electrophysiological phenotype and finally modeling data with ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) and MATLAB. Results: IPA showed significant activation of inflammatory, osteoarthritic and calcium signaling canonical pathways by cytokines, and we identified ∼200 channel gene transcripts. The large KCa (BK) channel consists of the pore forming Kcnma1 together with β-subunits. Following cytokine treatment, a significant increase in Kcnma1 RNA abundance was detected by qPCR and changes in several ion channels were detected by RNA-sequencing, including a loss of BK channel β-subunit expression Kcnmb1/2 and an increase in Kcnmb3. In electrophysiological experiments, there was a decrease in over-all current density at 20 mV without change in chord conductance at this potential. Conclusion: TNFα and IL1β treatment of FLS in vitro recapitulated several common features of inflammatory arthritis at the transcriptomic level, including increase in Kcnma1 and Kcnmb3 gene expression