Ca2+-activated Cl- (ClCa) channels regulate membrane excitability and myogenic tone in vascular smooth muscles. TMEM16A-coding proteins are mainly responsible for functional ClCa channels in vascular smooth muscles, including portal vein smooth muscles (PVSMs). Caveolae are cholesterol-rich and Ω-shaped invaginations on the plasma membrane that structurally contributes to effective signal transduction. Caveolin 1 (Cav1) accumulates in caveolae to form functional complexes among receptors, ion channels, and kinases. The present study examined the functional roles of Cav1 in the expression and activity of ClCa channels in the portal vein smooth muscle cells (PVSMCs) of wild-type (WT) and Cav1-knockout (KO) mice. Contractile experiments revealed that the amplitude of spontaneous PVSM contractions was larger in Cav1-KO mice than WT mice. Under whole-cell patch-clamp configurations, ClCa currents were markedly inhibited by 1 µM Ani9 (a selective TMEM16A ClCa channel blocker) in WT and Cav1-KO PVSMCs. However, Ani9-sensitive ClCa currents were significantly larger in Cav1-KO PVSMCs than in WT PVSMCs. Expression analyses showed that TMEM16A expression levels were higher in Cav1-KO PVSMs than in WT PVSMs. Therefore, the caveolar structure formed by Cav1 negatively regulates the expression and activity of TMEM16A-mediated ClCa channels in vascular smooth muscle cells.
Keywords: TMEM16A; calcium-activated chloride channel; caveola; caveolin 1; portal vein; smooth muscle.