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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
[Changes of BKCa during aging and its correlation with blood pressure]
Yu-Wen Yang1, Jing-Bao Kan, Xiang-Quan Kong
1Department of Cardiology of Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241001, China.
Aim:
To investigate the changes of large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (BKCa, MaxiK) during aging and relations between the changes and blood pressure.
Methods:
Male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) aged 9, 15, 21, 27, 33 weeks (the number of each weeks SHR was 4) were selected as hypertension group rats, corresponding gender, weeks and number Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) as control group rats. Blood pressure of abdominalis aorta of each weeks SHR and WKY were measured by BL-420F experimental system of biological function. The arteria mesenteric minor (AMM) were isolated in blunt dissection method. The vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of AMM were isolated with prolease. The potassium current, the current after BKCa were blockaded by Tetraethylammonium (TEA) and the capacitance of membrane (Cm) of VSMCs of AMM were recorded with using whole cell patch clamp, and calculated the BKCa current and the BKCa current density. Probe the correlation of the changes of BKCa current density with MABP during aging.
Results:
The potassium current density and BKCa current density of VSMCs of AMM of SHR were decreasing during aging, however, the changes of WKY had no statistically significance (P > 0.05). The BKCa current density was extremely correlative with MABP in SH R (the values of r were -0.7174), in WKY, the BKCa current density was correlative with MAB P r = -0.4832.
Conclusion:
BKCa current and current density attenuate with aging, the level of blood pressure is response of the attenuated degree. The BKCa current density is extremely correlative with the blood pressure.
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