We tested if small conductance, Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels (SKCa) precondition hearts against ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury by improving mitochondrial (m) bioenergetics, if O2–derived free radicals are required to initiate protection via SKCa channels, and, importantly, if SKCa channels are present in cardiac cell inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). NADH and FAD, superoxide (O2•−), and m[Ca2+] were measured in guinea pig isolated hearts by fluorescence spectrophotometry. SKCa and IKCa channel opener DCEBIO (DCEB) was given for 10 min ending 20 min before IR. Either TBAP, a dismutator of O2•−, NS8593, an antagonist of SKCa isoforms, or other KCa and KATP channel antagonists, was given before DCEB and before ischemia. DCEB treatment resulted in a 2-fold increase in LV pressure on reperfusion and a 2.5 fold decrease in infarct size vs. non-treated hearts associated with reduced O2•− and m[Ca2+], and more normalized NADH and FAD during IR. Only NS8593 and TBAP antagonized protection by DCEB. Localization of SKCa channels to mitochondria and IMM was evidenced by a) identification of purified mSKCa protein by Western blotting, immuno-histochemical staining, confocal microscopy, and immuno-gold electron microscopy, b) 2-D gel electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy of IMM protein, c) [Ca2+]–dependence of mSKCa channels in planar lipid bilayers, and d) matrix K+ influx induced by DCEB and blocked by SKCa antagonist UCL1684. This study shows that 1) SKCa channels are located and functional in IMM, 2) mSKCa channel opening by DCEB leads to protection that is O2•− dependent, and 3) protection by DCEB is evident beginning during ischemia.

BackgroundATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels in neurons regulate excitability, neurotransmitter release and mediate protection from cell-death. Furthermore, activation of KATP channels is suppressed in DRG neurons after painful-like nerve injury. NO-dependent mechanisms modulate both KATP channels and participate in the pathophysiology and pharmacology of neuropathic pain. Therefore, we investigated NO modulation of KATP channels in control and axotomized DRG neurons.ResultsCell-attached and cell-free recordings of KATP currents in large DRG neurons from control rats (sham surgery, SS) revealed activation of KATP channels by NO exogenously released by the NO donor SNAP, through decreased sensitivity to [ATP]i.This NO-induced KATP channel activation was not altered in ganglia from animals that demonstrated sustained hyperalgesia-type response to nociceptive stimulation following spinal nerve ligation. However, baseline opening of KATP channels and their activation induced by metabolic inhibition was suppressed by axotomy. Failure to block the NO-mediated amplification of KATP currents with specific inhibitors of sGC and PKG indicated that the classical sGC/cGMP/PKG signaling pathway was not involved in the activation by SNAP. NO-induced activation of KATP channels remained intact in cell-free patches, was reversed by DTT, a thiol-reducing agent, and prevented by NEM, a thiol-alkylating agent. Other findings indicated that the mechanisms by which NO activates KATP channels involve direct S-nitrosylation of cysteine residues in the SUR1 subunit. Specifically, current through recombinant wild-type SUR1/Kir6.2 channels expressed in COS7 cells was activated by NO, but channels formed only from truncated isoform Kir6.2 subunits without SUR1 subunits were insensitive to NO. Further, mutagenesis of SUR1 indicated that NO-induced KATP channel activation involves interaction of NO with residues in the NBD1 of the SUR1 subunit.ConclusionNO activates KATP channels in large DRG neurons via direct S-nitrosylation of cysteine residues in the SUR1 subunit. The capacity of NO to activate KATP channels via this mechanism remains intact even after spinal nerve ligation, thus providing opportunities for selective pharmacological enhancement of KATP current even after decrease of this current by painful-like nerve injury.

We examined the cardioprotective profile of the new A 3 adenosine receptor (AR) agonist 903 [N 6 -(2,5-dichlorobenzyl)-3Ј-aminoadenosine-5Ј-N-methylcarboxamide] in an in vivo mouse model of infarction and an isolated heart model of global ischemia/reperfusion injury. In radioligand binding and cAMP accumulation assays using human embryonic kidney 293 cells expressing recombinant mouse ARs, CP-532,903 was found to bind with high affinity to mouse A 3 ARs (K i ϭ 9.0 Ϯ 2.5 nM) and with high selectivity versus mouse A 1 AR (100-fold) and A 2A ARs (1000-fold). In in vivo ischemia/reperfusion experiments, pretreating mice with 30 or 100 g/kg CP-532,903 reduced infarct size from 59.2 Ϯ 2.1% of the risk region in vehicle-treated mice to 42.5 Ϯ 2.3 and 39.0 Ϯ 2.9%, respectively. Likewise, treating isolated mouse hearts with CP-532,903 (10, 30, or 100 nM) concentration dependently improved recovery of contractile function after 20 min of global ischemia and 45 min of reperfusion, including developed pressure and maximal rate of contraction/relaxation. In both models of ischemia/reperfusion injury, CP-532,903 provided no benefit in studies using mice with genetic disruption of the A 3 AR gene, A 3 knockout (KO) mice. In isolated heart studies, protection provided by CP-532,903 and ischemic preconditioning induced by three brief ischemia/ reperfusion cycles were lost in Kir6.2 KO mice lacking expression of the pore-forming subunit of the sarcolemmal ATPsensitive potassium (K ATP ) channel. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings provided evidence that the A 3 AR is functionally coupled to the sarcolemmal K ATP channel in murine cardiomyocytes. We conclude that CP-532,903 is a highly selective agonist of the mouse A 3 AR that protects against ischemia/reperfusion injury by activating sarcolemmal K ATP channels.A 3 adenosine receptor (AR) agonists have been shown to effectively limit infarct size and reduce contractile dysfunction in several different animal models of ischemia/reperfusion injury (Auchampach et al., 1997b(Auchampach et al., , 2003Tracey et al., 1997Tracey et al., , 1998Tracey et al., , 2003Jordan et al., 1999;Thourani et al., 1999;Ge et al., 2004Ge et al., , 2006. A 3 AR agonists are attractive as cardioprotective agents because they do not alter systemic hemodynamic parameters in nonrodent species and are effective if administered before the ischemic event or only during reperfusion (Auchampach et al

Mitochondrial connexin 43 (Cx43) plays a key role in cardiac cytoprotection caused by repeated exposure to short periods of non-lethal ischemia/reperfusion, a condition known as ischemic preconditioning. Cx43 also forms calcium (Ca)-permeable hemichannels that may potentially lead to mitochondrial Ca overload and cell death. Here, we studied the role of Cx43 in facilitating mitochondrial Ca entry and investigated its downstream consequences. To that purpose, we used various connexin-targeting peptides interacting with extracellular (Gap26) and intracellular (Gap19, RRNYRRNY) Cx43 domains, and tested their effect on mitochondrial dye- and Ca-uptake, electrophysiological properties of plasmalemmal and mitochondrial Cx43 channels, and cell injury/cell death. Our results in isolated mice cardiac subsarcolemmal mitochondria indicate that Cx43 forms hemichannels that contribute to Ca entry and may trigger permeability transition and cell injury/death. RRNYRRNY displayed the strongest effects in all assays and inhibited plasma membrane as well as mitochondrial Cx43 hemichannels. RRNYRRNY also strongly reduced the infarct size in ex vivo cardiac ischemia-reperfusion studies. These results indicate that Cx43 contributes to mitochondrial Ca homeostasis and is involved in triggering cell injury/death pathways that can be inhibited by RRNYRRNY peptide.

Axotomy is required for I(Ca) loss. I(Ca) loss correlated with changes in the biophysical properties of sensory neuron membranes during action potential generation, which were due to I(Ca) loss leading to decreased outward Ca(2+)-sensitive K currents. Taken together, these results suggest that neuropathic pain may be mediated, in part, by loss of I(Ca) and the cellular processes dependent on Ca(2+).