Oxygen Sensitivity of Cloned Voltage-Gated K1 Channels Expressed in the Pulmonary Vasculature

Abstract—Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction is initiated by inhibiting one or more voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel in the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of the small pulmonary resistance vessels. Although progress has been made in identifying which Kv channel proteins are expressed in pulmonary arterial (PA) VSMCs, there are conflicting reports regarding which channels contribute to the native O2-sensitive K1 current. In this study, we examine