Airway smooth muscle photorelaxation via opsin receptor activation

28Citations
Citations of this article
24Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Nonvisual opsin (OPN) receptors have recently been implicated in blue light-mediated photorelaxation of smooth muscle in various organs. Since photorelaxation has not yet been demonstrated in airway smooth muscle (ASM) or in human tissues, we questioned whether functional OPN receptors are expressed in mouse and human ASM. mRNA, encoding the OPN 3 receptor, was detected in both human and mouse ASM. To demonstrate the functionality of the OPN receptors, we performed wire myography of ex vivo ASM from mouse and human upper airways. Blue light-mediated relaxation of ACh-preconstricted airways was intensity and wavelength dependent (maximum relaxation at 430-nm blue light) and was inhibited by blockade of the large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels with iberiotoxin. We further implicated OPN receptors as key mediators in functional photorelaxation by demonstrating increased relaxation in the presence of a G protein receptor kinase 2 inhibitor or an OPN chromophore (9-cis retinal). We corroborated these responses in peripheral airways of murine precision-cut lung slices. This is the first demonstration of photorelaxation in ASM via an OPN receptor-mediated pathway.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Yim, P. D., Gallos, G., Perez-Zoghbi, J. F., Zhang, Y., Xu, D., Wu, A., … Emala, C. W. (2019). Airway smooth muscle photorelaxation via opsin receptor activation. American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 316(1), L82–L93. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplung.00135.2018

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free