Abstract
This chapter discusses the calcium channels and potassium channels. This chapter examines the properties and roles of calcium and potassium channels that have been described in smooth muscle, with major emphasis on arterial smooth muscle. Two types of calcium channels have been identified in arterial smooth muscle. Voltage-dependent ("L-type") Ca2+ channels increase their activity with membrane depolarization, and thereby control calcium influx into the smooth muscle cell. Therefore, these channels play a key role in excitation-contraction coupling in virtually all smooth muscle. Direct ligand-gated nonselective channels have been described in some types of smooth muscle, including arterial and airway smooth muscle. The physiological role of these channels in arterial smooth muscle is unclear at present.
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