Bone morphogenetic protein-2 upregulates expression and function of voltage-gated K+ channels in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells

1 Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, and 2 Applied Biosystems, Foster City, California Submitted 27 April 2005 ; accepted in final form 28 June 2006 Activity of voltage-gated K + (K V ) channels in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) plays an important role in control of apoptosis and proliferation in addition to regulating membrane potential and pulmonary vascular tone. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in normal human PASMC, whereas dysfunctional BMP signaling and downregulated K V channels are involved in pulmonary vascular medial hypertrophy associated with pulmonary hypertension. This study evaluated the effect of BMP-2 on K V channel function and expression in normal human PASMC. BMP-2 (100 nM for 18–24 h) significantly (>2-fold) upregulated mRNA expression of KCNA5, KCNA7, KCNA10, KCNC3, KCNC4, KCNF1, KCNG3, KCNS1, and KCNS3 but downregulated (at least 2-fold) KCNAB1, KCNA2, KCNG2, and KCNV2. The most dramatic change was the >10-fold downregulation of KCNG2 and KCNV2, two electrically silent -subunits that form heterotetramers with functional K V channel -subunits (e.g., KCNB1–2). Furthermore, the amplitude and current density of whole cell K V currents were significantly increased in PASMC treated with BMP-2. It has been demonstrated that K + currents generated by KCNB1 and KCNG1 (or KCNG2) or KCNB1 and KCNV2 heterotetramers are smaller than those generated by KCNB1 homotetramers, indicating that KCNG2 and KCNV2 (2 subunits that were markedly downregulated by BMP-2) are inhibitors of functional K V channels. These results suggest that BMP-2 divergently regulates mRNA expression of various K V channel -, -, and -subunits and significantly increases whole cell K V currents in human PASMC. Finally, we present evidence that attenuation of c-Myc expression by BMP-2 may be involved in BMP-2-mediated increase in K V channel activity and regulation of K V channel expression. The increased K V channel activity may be involved in the proapoptotic and/or antiproliferative effects of BMP-2 on PASMC. pulmonary arterial hypertension; patch clamp; membrane potential Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: J. X.-J. Yuan, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Dept. of Medicine, Univ. of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0725, La Jolla, CA 92093-0725 (e-mail: xiyuan{at}ucsd.edu )