Delayed rectifier K+ current (IKs) is a key contributor to repolarization of action potentials. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying the adrenoceptor-induced potentiation of IKs in pulmonary vein cardiomyocytes (PVC). PVC were isolated from guinea pig pulmonary vein. The action potentials and IKs current were recorded using perforated and conventional whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. The expression of IKs was examined using immunocytochemistry and Western blotting. KCNQ1, a IKs pore-forming protein was detected as a signal band approximately 100 kDa in size, and its immunofluorescence signal was found to be mainly localized on the cell membrane. The IKs current in PVC was markedly enhanced by both β1- and β2-adrenoceptor stimulation with a negative voltage shift in the current activation, although the potentiation was more effectively induced by β2-adrenoceptor stimulation than β1-adrenoceptor stimulation. Both β-adrenoceptor-mediated increases in IKs were attenuated by treatment with the adenylyl cyclase (AC) inhibitor or protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor. Furthermore, the IKs current was increased by α1-adrenoceptor agonist but attenuated by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. PVC exhibited action potentials in normal Tyrode solution which was slightly reduced by HMR-1556 a selective IKs blocker. However, HMR-1556 markedly reduced the β-adrenoceptor-potentiated firing rate. The stimulatory effects of β- and α1-adrenoceptor on IKs in PVC are mediated via the PKA and PKC signal pathways. HMR-1556 effectively reduced the firing rate under β-adrenoceptor activation, suggesting that the functional role of IKs might increase during sympathetic excitation under in vivo conditions.
Keywords: AC-cAMP-PKA pathway; Adrenocptors; I(Ks); PKC pathway; Pulmonary vein cardiomyocytes.
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