Carbon monoxide (CO) is a potent activator of large conductance, calcium-dependent potassium (BKCa) channels of vascular myocytes and carotid body glomus cells or when heterologously expressed. Using the human BKCa channel α1-subunit (hSlo1; KCNMA1) stably and transiently expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, the mechanism and structural basis of channel activation by CO was investigated in inside–out, excised membrane patches. Activation by CO was concentration dependent (EC50 ∼20 μM), rapid, reversible, and evoked a shift in the V0.5 of −20 mV. CO evoked no changes in either single channel conductance or in deactivation rate but augmented channel activation rate. Activation was independent of the redox state of the channel, or associated compounds/protein partners, and was partially dependent on [Ca2+]i in the physiological range (100–1,000 nM). Importantly, CO “super-stimulated” BKCa activity even in saturating [Ca2+]i. Single or double mutation of two histidine residues previously implicated in CO sensing did not suppress CO activation but replacing the S9–S10 module of the C-terminal of Slo1 with that of Slo3 completely prevented the action of CO. These findings show that a motif in the S9–S10 part of the C-terminal is essential for CO activation and suggest that this gas transmitter activates the BKCa channel by redox-independent changes in gating.

Detecting and reacting to acute perturbation in the partial pressure of atmospheric oxygen (pO2), particularly hypoxia, is a fundamental adaptive mechanism which is conserved throughout the animal kingdom. In mammals, a number of cellular systems respond, often co-operatively as oxygen availability becomes compromised, with the express aim of maximising oxygen uptake by the lungs and of optimising its delivery to the metabolically most active tissues. Thus, during hypoxia, ventilation rate and depth are increased to maximize air flow across the gaseous exchange surface, local lung perfusion rates become rapidly matched to local alveolar ventilation and systemic arteriolar dilatation ensures that tissue and cerebral blood flow become swiftly optimized.

Recombinant and native large conductance, Ca(2+)-activated K+ (BK) channels often demonstrate O2 sensitivity in cell-free membrane patches suggesting that a significant component of the O2-sensing machinery must be closely associated with the channel protein complex. Until recently, however, the identity of the O2 sensor itself had remained elusive. Employing functional proteomics we have defined the molecular nature of such an O2 sensor of BK channels. Using immunoprecipitation, 1D and 2D gel electrophoresis, and mass spectroscopy we identified the constitutive form of haem oxygenase, haem oxygenase 2 (HO-2), as a BK alpha-subunit protein partner. Functional measurement of hypoxic modulation of BK channel activity during manipulation of HO-2 enzyme substrates and reaction products, followed by protein knock-down of HO-2 using small interfering RNA, indicated that this enzyme is directly involved in hypoxic inhibition of BK channels. Furthermore, good correlation was observed between data obtained from recombinant BK channels and those from acutely isolated rat carotid body glomus cells, suggesting strongly that HO-2 also acts as an O2 sensor in native arterial chemoreceptors.

The combination of studies in native tissues and immortalised model systems during the last decade has made possible a deeper understanding of the physiology and functional morphology of arterial and airway oxygen sensors. Complementary and overlapping information from these earlier studies has allowed a detailed description of the cellular events that link decreased environmental oxygen to the release of physiologically important vasoactive transmitters. Since these basic pathways have now been defined functionally, what remains to be determined is the molecular identity of the specific proteins involved in the signal transduction pathways, and how these proteins interact to produce a full physiological response. With these goals clearly in sight, we have embarked upon a strategy that is a novel combination of proteomics and functional genomics. It is hoped this strategy will enable us to develop and refine the initial models in order to understand more completely the process of oxygen sensing in health and disease.