Cerebral blood flow is a finely tuned process dependent on coordinated changes in arterial tone. These changes are strongly tied to smooth muscle membrane potential and inwardly rectifying K+ (KIR) channels are thought to be a key determinant. To elucidate the role of KIR2.1 in cerebral arterial tone development, this study examined the electrical and functional properties of cells, vessels and living tissue from tamoxifen-induced smooth muscle cell (SMC)-specific KIR2.1 knockout mice. Patch-clamp electrophysiology revealed a robust Ba2+-sensitive inwardly rectifying K+ current in cerebral arterial myocytes irrespective of KIR2.1 knockout. Immunolabeling clarified that KIR2.1 expression was low in SMCs while KIR2.2 labeling was remarkably abundant at the membrane. In alignment with these observations, pressure myography revealed that the myogenic response and K+-induced dilation were intact in cerebral arteries post knockout. At the whole organ level, this translated to a maintenance of brain perfusion in SMC KIR2.1-/- mice, as assessed with arterial spin-labeling MRI. We confirmed these findings in superior epigastric arteries and implicated KIR2.2 as more functionally relevant in SMCs. Together, these results suggest that subunits other than KIR2.1 play a significant role in setting native current in SMCs and driving arterial tone.
Keywords: Arterial spin-labeling MRI; cerebral blood flow; electrophysiology; myography; potassium channels.