The TREK-1 potassium channel is a potential pharmacological target for vasorelaxation in pulmonary hypertension.

Background And Purpose: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease in which chronic membrane potential (E) depolarisation of the pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) causes calcium overload, a key pathological alteration. Under resting conditions, the negative E is mainly set by two pore domain potassium (K) channels, of which the TASK-1 has been extensively investigated.

Experimental Approach: Ion channel currents and membrane potential of primary cultured human(h) PASMCs were measured using the voltage- and current clamp methods.