This project seeks to understand the mechanisms by which the contractility of airway smooth muscle (ASM) is controlled and regulated. The present proposal focuses on the highly localized and short-lived Ca2+ events (Ca2+ sparks), resulting from the opening of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane, and their interactions with nearby Ca2+-activated ion channels in the plasma membrane. As in vascular smooth muscle, Ca2+ sparks activate a small number of large-conductance K+ (BK) channels in the spark microdomain to generate spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) which hyperpolarize the membrane in ASM. Recently we have identified another important target of Ca2+ sparks in ASM, i.e. Ca2+-activated CI- (CIca) channels which cause spontaneous transient inward currents (STICs) and thus depolarize the membrane. Accordingly, the central hypothesis of this proposal is that Ca2+ sparks coordinate the activation of membrane channels to regulate airway contractility. An integrated approach using high-speed digital Ca2+ imaging with simultaneous patch-clamping, and also 2D and 3D protein localization, will be applied using normal and transgenic mouse models. Furthermore, a physiological airway preparation, i.e., lung slices, will be employed to investigate the role of Ca2+ sparks in regulating contractility of airways themselves. Our specific objectives are to uncover the biophysics of RyRs underlying Ca2+ sparks using our newly developed signal mass approach (Aim 1); to determine the functional and spatial relationships of RyRs to BK channels and CIca channels (Aims 2 and 3); and to determine the physiological role of Ca2+ sparks in airways (Aim 4). We expect that these studies will provide new knowledge which could lead to development of novel therapeutic approaches for asthma and other bronchospasitc disorders.
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