Lipopolysaccharide can activate BK channels of arterial smooth muscle in the absence of iNOS expression.

The role of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the acute activation of large-conductance, Ca(2+)-dependent K(+) channels (BK channels) by Escherichia coli endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) was studied in murine vascular smooth muscle cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and patch clamp recordings were utilised. Within 2 h of donor rat sacrifice, iNOS-like immunoreactivity could be detected in cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells (CVSMCs) enzymatically dispersed from rat cerebral arteries. This staining was absent in cells fixed immediately after donor rat sacrifice. LPS was then applied to the cytoplasmic face of inside-out membrane patches excised from rat CVSMCs within 2-4 h of donor rat sacrifice. It was found that LPS (10-100 microg/ml) rapidly and reversibly increased the open probability of BK channels in these patches. This LPS response was not altered in the presence of the non-isoform specific NOS inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine. LPS responses were then compared in aortic smooth muscle (ASMC) BK channels derived from wild-type and iNOS-knockout (iNOS-KO) mice. LPS activated BK channels in inside-out patches of ASMC membrane derived from both wild-type and iNOS-knockout mice. These studies establish that LPS can activate BK channels by a mechanism quite independent of the well-established pathway mediated by iNOS in vascular smooth muscle cells.