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Noradrenaline contracts arteries by activating voltage-dependent calcium channels

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Abstract

Noradrenaline (NA) regulates arterial smooth muscle tone and hence blood vessel diameter and blood flow1. NA apparently increases tone by causing a calcium influx through the cell membrane1–3. Two calcium influx pathways have been proposed: voltage-activated calcium channels and NA-activated calcium-permeable channels that are voltage-insensitive1. Although voltage-activated calcium channels have been identified in arterial smooth muscle4, 5, voltage-insensitive calcium channels activated by NA have not. We show here that NA contractions of rabbit mesenteric arteries increase with depolarization. The increase parallels the elevation of open-state probability (P ) of single, voltage-dependent calcium channels. The action of noradrenaline can be explained by NA-activating voltage-dependent calcium channels, rather than by opening a second type of channel. We show directly that N A increases the open-state probability of single calcium channels. Thus, in the presence of NA, calcium entry through voltage-dependent calcium channels can regulate smooth muscle tone at physiological membrane potentials. These results may have relevance to pathophysiological conditions such as hypertension.

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Author notes

  1. Nicholas B. Standen: Department of Physiology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK

  2. Jennings F. Worley: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, 05405, USA

    Mark T. Nelson, Nicholas B. Standen, Joseph E. Brayden & Jennings F. Worley III

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  1. Mark T. Nelson
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  2. Nicholas B. Standen
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  3. Joseph E. Brayden
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  4. Jennings F. Worley III
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Nelson, M., Standen, N., Brayden, J. et al. Noradrenaline contracts arteries by activating voltage-dependent calcium channels. Nature 336, 382–385 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/336382a0

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