ABSTRACT
This study investigated the role of 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) in rabbit pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) under hypoxia by using organ bath and whole cell patch-clamp techniques. Neonatal rabbits born into normoxic environment were transferred after first feeding into normal and hypoxic environments with respectively 0.21 and 0.12 fractional inspired oxygen (FiO2). Pulmonary arteries were extracted after 9 d and cut into rings 1.0 approximately 1.5 mm in length for organ bath experiments. Whole cell patch-clamp technique was used to measure the potassium current in the freshly dispersed rabbit PASMCs. The results showed that 15-HETE-induced vasoconstriction was blocked by 4-aminopyridine (5 mmol/L), a Kv channel blocker. The K(ATP) channel blocker glyburide (1 micromol/L) and the BKCa channel blocker tetraethylammonium (10 mmol/L) did not abolish this vasoconstriction. 15-HETE decreased the whole-cell voltage-gated K+ current in the PASMCs. These findings demonstrate that hypoxia blocks Kv channels through a 15-HETE mediated mechanism, leading to PA vasoconstriction.