GSBS Student Publications
Title
Arachidonic acid and other fatty acids directly activate potassium channels in smooth muscle cells
UMMS Affiliation
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Department of Physiology
Date
6-9-1989
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Animals; Arachidonic Acid; Arachidonic Acids; Bufo marinus; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; Ion Channels; Kinetics; Membrane Potentials; Muscle, Smooth; Stomach
Disciplines
Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
Arachidonic acid, as well as fatty acids that are not substrates for cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes, activated a specific type of potassium channel in freshly dissociated smooth muscle cells. Activation occurred in excised membrane patches in the absence of calcium and all nucleotides. Therefore signal transduction pathways that require such soluble factors, including the NADPH-dependent cytochrome P450 pathway, do not mediate the response. Thus, fatty acids directly activate potassium channels and so may constitute a class of signal molecules that regulate ion channels.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Science. 1989 Jun 9;244(4909):1176-9.
Related Resources
Journal Title
Science (New York, N.Y.)
PubMed ID
2471269
Repository Citation
Ordway, Richard W.; Walsh, John V.; and Singer, Joshua J., "Arachidonic acid and other fatty acids directly activate potassium channels in smooth muscle cells" (1989). GSBS Student Publications. 924.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_sp/924