Potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells

Vascular smooth muscle cells express several types of potassium (K⁺) channels that control physiological functions including contractility, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Five primary classes of K⁺ channel are present in vascular smooth muscle cells: large-conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ (BK), voltage-dependent K⁺ (K_V), inward-rectifier K⁺ (Kir), adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive K⁺ (K_ATP), and two-pore domain (tandem pore domain) K⁺ (K2P) channels. Vascular smooth muscle cells can express specific submembers, splice variants, and auxiliary subunits of these five K⁺ channel classes to customize their properties. Expression patterns of K⁺ channels in smooth muscle cells can vary depending on vessel type, size, and anatomical origin. The expression, activity, trafficking, and surface abundance of K⁺ channels can be regulated by a wide variety of stimuli, including membrane voltage, ions, molecules, lipids, and proteins, including those generated by signal transduction pathways. K⁺ channel function can exhibit sexual dimorphism, change in conditions such as pregnancy and aging, and alter in different diseases, including systemic and pulmonary hypertension, diabetes mellitus/metabolic syndrome, and brain disorders. Genetic mutations in genes that encode K⁺ channels are also associated with pathological alterations in vascular smooth muscle function. Here, we provide a comprehensive summary of approximately 40 years of literature investigating the expression, regulation, function, and pathological modification of BK, K_V, Kir, K_ATP, and K2P channels in vascular smooth muscle cells.