Hydroxysafflor yellow A actives BKCa channels and inhibits L-type Ca channels to induce vascular relaxation.

Hydroxy-safflor yellow A (HSYA) can exert a variety of effects upon the vascular system. However, the underlying mechanisms are not clear. The present study is to investigate its vasodilating effect and the mechanisms. Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were enrolled for studying effects of HSYA on blood pressure, vasodilation, intracellular Ca2+ transient and membrane ion channels. Vasodilation and intracellular Ca2+ transient were measured by using vasomotor assay and fluorescence imaging system, respectively. The effect of HSYA on the large conductance Ca2+ activated and voltage-gated potassium channel (BKCa channel) currents in rat mesentery artery and on L-type calcium channel (Ca-L) currents in HEK293cells expressed with Ca-L were investigated using patch clamp techniques. Blood pressure of SHR and WKY rats were concentration dependently reduced by HSYA with a larger effect of HSYA in SHR than that in WKY rats. The tension of mesenteric arteries induced by 3 μM phenylephrine was attenuated by HSYA (IC50 = 90.8 μΜ). Patch clamp study showed that HSYA could activate BKCa channels and suppress Ca-L channels in a concentration dependent manner. The results of calcium signaling assays indicated that HSYA could reduce the intracellular free Ca2+ level. These findings demonstrate that HSYA could activate BKCa channels and inhibit Ca-L channels and reduce intracellular free Ca2+ level, which are probably important for its vasodilatory effect.