The long term objective of the applicant's research program is to unravel the ionic mechanisms that are involved in the control of electrical and mechanical activities of the smooth muscle cells of large conduit and resistance-sized vessels in health and disease. In smooth muscle cells, chloride ions (Cl-) are not passively distributed across the cell membrane. It is thought that this anion is actively accumulated in the cytoplasm by various anion transporters. Such a high internal level of Cl- (~ 40 mM) results in a predicted equilibrium for Cl- (ECl) that is more positive (-25 mV) than the resting membrane potential (RMP) of vascular smooth muscle cells (~ -40 to -60 mV). Because of this deviation between ECl and RMP, any increase in permeability to Cl- would result in passive Cl"""""""" efflux, membrane depolarization and increased vascular tone. In spite of our knowledge about high resting membrane permeability to Cl- in smooth muscle cells, the nature of this basal anion conductance still remains undefined. This proposal is focused on elucidating the mechanisms involved in the regulation by phosphorylation mechanisms involving calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) and serine/threonine phosphatases (Calcineurin and PP2A) of a Cl- channel activated by intracellular Ca2+ (ClCa ) in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, and how this might impact on the electrical and vasoactive properties of the pulmonary circulation.
4 Specific Aims are proposed in this grant: (1) determine the effect of general phosphorylation status on the biophysical properties of Clca channels in rabbit pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells; (2) determine the relative role of CaMKII and serine/threonine phosphatases in the regulation of ClCa channels in rabbit pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells; (3) determine the physiological impact of phosphatase regulation of ClCa channels on membrane potential, Ca2+ transients and tone in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells and intact pulmonary arteries; and (4) clone and express 3 candidate genes encoding Ca2+-activated Cl- channels in rabbit pulmonary artery and evaluate their physiological relevance to the native channels. A strong team of collaborating investigators will use a wide array of electrophysiological, biochemical and molecular biology techniques, as well as confocal imaging technology and computer simulations to accomplish the above goals. The etiology of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in humans is still poorly understood although it is becoming increasingly clear that defective ionic mechanisms may play a role in this disease. Because of their potential importance as an excitatory mechanism in pulmonary arteries, impaired regulation and/or expression of Clca channels could potentially participate in PH. The proposed studies will not only advance our knowledge about their basic properties, but should also pave the way for the development of future therapies to treat PH.
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