Transcriptional remodeling of ion channel subunits by flow adaptation in human coronary artery endothelial cells

Endothelial cells (ECs) are constantly exposed to blood flow-induced shear forces in the vessels and this is a major determinant of endothelial function. Ion channels have a major role in endothelial function and in the control of vascular tone. We hypothesized that shear force is a general regulator of ion channel expression, which will have profound effects on endothelial function. We examined this hypothesis using large-scale quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Human coronary artery ECs were exposed to two levels of flow-induced shear stress for 24 h, while control cells were grown under static conditions. The expression of ion channel subunits was compared between control and flow-adapted cells. We used primers against 55 ion channel and exchanger subunits and were able to detect 54 subunits. Five dyn/cm² of shear induced downregulation of 1 (NCX1) and upregulation of 18 subunits, including K_Ca2.2, K _Ca2.3, CX37, K_v1.5 and HCN2. Fifteen dyn/cm² of shear stress induced the expression of 30 ion channel subunits, including K_Ca2.3, K_Ca2.2, CX37, K_ir2.3 and K _Ca3.1. Our data demonstrate that substantial remodeling of endothelial ion channel subunit expression occurs with flow adaptation and suggest that altered ion channel expression may significantly contribute to vascular pathology associated with flow-induced alterations.