ANG II inhibits calcium-activated potassium channels from coronary smooth muscle in lipid bilayers

Angiotensin II (ANG II) is a powerful vasoconstrictor of coronary vessels and other smooth muscles. One of the actions of ANG II is the inhibition of K+ currents, possibly contributing to depolarization and contraction. Therefore, we investigated the role of ANG II on the regulation of K+ channels at the single-channel level. We studied its effect on calcium-activated potassium (KCa) channels (congruent to 250 pS) from coronary smooth muscle incorporated into lipid bilayers. KCa channels were sensitive to externally applied ANG II at voltages from -20 to -70 mV and pCa between 6.5 and 4. The dose-response curve gave a concentration of half-inhibition (Ki1/2) of 58 nM and a Hill coefficient of 2.2, indicating a minimum of two sites in the process. ANG II modified the open and closed states of the channel, affecting their proportions and their values. In addition, a new much slower (congruent to 1 s) closed or "blocked" state appeared. We conclude that one of the mechanisms by which ANG II causes vasoconstriction of the coronary vessels is a direct inhibition of KCa channels contributing to depolarization and contraction.