Levosimendan Relaxes Thoracic Aortic Smooth Muscle in Mice by Inhibiting PKC and Activating Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Channels

Abstract

Studies have examined the therapeutic effect of levosimendan on cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, perioperative cardiac surgery, and septic shock, but the specific mechanism in mice remains largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the relaxation mechanism of levosimendan in the thoracic aorta smooth muscle of mice. Levosimendan-induced relaxation of isolated thoracic aortic rings that were precontracted with norepinephrine (NE) or KCl was recorded in an endothelium-independent manner. Vasodilatation by levosimendan was not associated with the production of the endothelial relaxation factors NO and PGI2. The voltage-dependent K+ channel (KV) blocker (4-aminopyridine) and selective KCa blocker (tetraethylammonium) had no effect on thoracic aortas treated with levosimendan, indicating that KV and KCa channels may not be involved in the levosimendan-induced relaxation mechanism. Although the inwardly rectifying K+ channel (Kir) blocker (barium chloride) and the KATP channel blocker (glibenclamide) significantly inhibited levosimendan-induced vasodilation in the isolated thoracic aorta, barium chloride had a much stronger inhibitory effect on levosimendan-induced vasodilation than glibenclamide, suggesting that levosimendan-induced vasodilation may be mediated by Kir channels. The vasodilation effect and expression of Kir 2.1 induced by levosimendan were further enhanced by the PKC inhibitor staurosporine. Extracellular calcium influx was inhibited by levosimendan without affecting intracellular Ca2+ levels in the isolated thoracic aorta. These results suggest that Kir channels play a more important role than KATP channels in regulating vascular tone in larger arteries and that the activity of the Kir channel is enhanced by the PKC pathway.