Activation of large-conductance potassium channels in pregnant human myometrium by pinacidil

Objective: The aim was to investigate the effects of the potassium-channel opener pinacidil on single uterine potassium channels and the contribution of the latter to pinacidil-induced myometrial relaxation. Study Design: Myometrial strips and freshly dispersed uterine myocytes were prepared from the myometrial biopsy samples of women undergoing elective, nonlabor caesarean section at term gestation. Results: In isometric tension experiments pinacidil potently relaxed pregnant nonlabor human myometrial strips, with an agonist concentration yielding the half maximal response of 0.4 ± 0.1 μmol/L. This effect was antagonized by 500 nmol/L charybdotoxin. Application of 10 μmol/L glibenclamide also inhibited the pinacidil-induced relaxation. Coapplication of charybdotoxin (500 nmol/L) and glibenclamide (10 μmol/L) produced a biphasic curve, which was fitted to a two-site model with values for agonist concentration yielding the half maximal response of 0.6 ± 0.2 μmol/L and 189.7 ± 0.8 μmol/L. Large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium channel activity was dramatically increased after application of pinacidil (between 10 and 100 μmol/L) to both inside-out and outside-out patches. The activation required the presence of calcium ions at the intracellular aspect of the membrane. Charybdotoxin but not glibenclamide blocked pinacidil-induced unitary large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium channel activity. Conclusion: Pinacidil-mediated relaxation of human pregnant myometrial strips may be partially attributable to the opening of uterine large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium channels in addition to adenosine triphosphate potassium channel activation. Drugs with specific potassium channel–activating properties may have important clinical application as novel tocolytics in the treatment of preterm labor. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998;178:1027-34.)