A depolarizing chloride efflux has been suggested to activate voltage-dependent calcium channels in renal afferent arteriolar smooth muscle cells in response to vasoconstrictors. To test this proposal, rabbit afferent arterioles were microperfused, and the contractile dose responses to norepinephrine, angiotensin II (ANG II), and potassium were measured after chloride depletion and compared with controls. Chloride depletion did not change arteriolar diameters, but the response to norepinephrine was markedly reduced when chloride was substituted with gluconate (n = 6) or isethionate (n = 6). Reintroduction of chloride fully restored the sensitivity to norepinephrine. Contractions after ANG II and potassium were totally abolished in the absence of chloride (n = 6). In additional experiments (n = 7), the arteriolar contraction to 100 mM potassium was abolished only 1 min after removal of extracellular chloride. We conclude that norepinephrine and ANG II use different mechanisms for contraction and that extracellular chloride is essential for contraction in afferent arterioles after activation of voltage-dependent calcium channels. We suggest that a chloride influx pathway is activated concomitantly with the voltage-dependent calcium channel to allow chloride influx to compensate for the cation influx.

Regulated K ؉ transport across the plasma membrane is of vital importance for the survival of most cells. Two K ؉ channels have been identified in the Plasmodium falciparum genome; however, their functional significance during parasite life cycle in the vertebrate host and during transmission through the mosquito vector remains unknown. We hypothesize that these two K ؉ channels mediate the transport of K ؉ in the parasites, and thus are important for parasite survival. To test this hypothesis, we identified the orthologue of one of the P. falciparum K ؉ channels, PfKch1, in the rodent malaria parasite P. berghei (PbKch1) and examined the biological role by performing a targeted disruption of the gene encoding PbKch1. The deduced amino acid sequence of the six transmembrane domains of PfKch1 and PbKch1 share 82% identity, and in particular the pore regions are completely identical. The PbKch1-null parasites were viable despite a marked reduction in the uptake of the K ؉ congener 86 Rb ؉ , and mice infected with PbKch1-null parasites survived slightly longer than mice infected with WT parasites. However, the most striking feature of the phenotype was the virtually complete inhibition of the development of PbKch1-null parasites in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. In conclusion, these studies demonstrate that PbKch1 contributes to the transport of K ؉ in P. berghei parasites and supports the growth of the parasites, in particular the development of oocysts in the mosquito midgut. K ؉ channels therefore may constitute a potential antimalarial drug target. malaria ͉ pathogenesis ͉ mosquito ͉ drug target

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K+ channels are integral membrane proteins, which contribute to maintain vital parameters such as the cellular membrane potential and cell volume. Malaria parasites encode two K+ channel homologues, Kch1 and Kch2, which are well-conserved among members of the Plasmodium genus. In the rodent malaria parasite P. berghei, the functional significance of K+ channel homologue PbKch2 was studied using targeted gene knock-out. The knockout parasites were characterized in a mouse model in terms of growth-kinetics and infectivity in the mosquito vector. Furthermore, using a tracer-uptake technique with 86Rb+ as a K+ congener, the K+ transporting properties of the knockout parasites were assessed. Results Genetic disruption of Kch2 did not grossly affect the phenotype in terms of asexual replication and pathogenicity in a mouse model. In contrast to Kch1-null parasites, Kch2-null parasites were fully capable of forming oocysts in female Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. 86Rb+ uptake in Kch2-deficient blood-stage P. berghei parasites (Kch2-null) did not differ from that of wild-type (WT) parasites. About two-third of the 86Rb+ uptake in WT and in Kch2-null parasites could be inhibited by K+ channel blockers and could be inferred to the presence of functional Kch1 in Kch2 knockout parasites. Kch2 is therefore not required for transport of K+ in P. berghei and is not essential to mosquito-stage sporogonic development of the parasite.