Hypoxic stress up-regulates Kir2.1 expression and facilitates cell proliferation in brain capillary endothelial cells

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is mainly composed of brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs), astrocytes and pericytes. Brain ischemia causes hypoxic encephalopathy and damages BBB. However, it remains still unclear how hypoxia affects BCECs. In the present study, t-BBEC117 cells, an immortalized bovine brain endothelial cell line, were cultured under hypoxic conditions at 4-5% oxygen for 72 h. This hypoxic stress caused hyperpolarization of resting membrane potential. Patch-clamp recordings revealed a marked increase in Ba(2+)-sensitive inward rectifier K(+) current in t-BBEC117 cells after hypoxic culture. Western blot and real-time PCR analyses showed that Kir2.1 expression was significantly up-regulated at protein level but not at mRNA level after the hypoxic culture. Ca(2+) imaging study revealed that the hypoxic stress enhanced store-operated Ca(2+) (SOC) entry, which was significantly reduced in the presence of 100 μM Ba(2+). On the other hand, the expression of SOC channels such as Orai1, Orai2, and transient receptor potential channels was not affected by hypoxic stress. MTT assay showed that the hypoxic stress significantly enhanced t-BBEC117 cell proliferation, which was inhibited by approximately 60% in the presence of 100 μM Ba(2+). We first show here that moderate cellular stress by cultivation under hypoxic conditions hyperpolarizes membrane potential via the up-regulation of functional Kir2.1 expression and presumably enhances Ca(2+) entry, resulting in the facilitation of BCEC proliferation. These findings suggest potential roles of Kir2.1 expression in functional changes of BCECs in BBB following ischemia.