Developmental regulation of oxygen sensing and ion channels in the pulmonary vasculature

Abstract

The increase in oxygen tension occurring at birth causes sustained and progressive pulmonary vasodilation. The oxygen-induced perinatal pulmonary vasodilation depends on the production of nitric oxide (NO) from the pulmonary endothelium and activation of various K+ channels in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. This chapter reviews a) the oxygen-sensing mechanism that stimulates endothelial NO production; b) how K+ channels sense changes in oxygen tension; c) whether hypoxia-inducible factor-1á (HIF-1á), a well defined hypoxia-sensitive transcription factor in adult, contributes to the regulation of NO production and K+ channel activation; and d) whether and how dysfunctional K+ channels contribute to the development of pulmonary hypertension in the newborns. © Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+ Business Media, LLC 2010.