Impaired β-adrenoceptor-induced relaxation in small mesenteric arteries from DOCA-salt hypertensive rats is due to reduced K _Ca channel activity

β-Adrenoceptor (β-AR)-mediated relaxation plays an important role in the regulation of vascular tone. β-AR-mediated vascular relaxation is reduced in various disease states and aging. We hypothesized that β-AR-mediated vasodilatation is impaired in DOCA-salt hypertension due to alterations in the cAMP pathway. β-AR-mediated relaxation was determined in small mesenteric arteries from DOCA-salt hypertensive and control uninephrectomized (Uni) rats. To exclude nitric oxide (NO) and cyclooxygenase (COX) pathways, relaxation responses were determined in the presence of l-NNA and indomethacin, NO synthase inhibitor and COX inhibitors, respectively. Isoprenaline (ISO)-induced relaxation was reduced in arteries from DOCA-salt compared to Uni rats. Protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitors (H89 or Rp-cAMPS) or adenylyl cyclase inhibitor (SQ22536) did not abolish the difference in ISO-induced relaxation between the groups. Forskolin (adenylyl cyclase activator)-induced relaxation was similar between the groups. The inhibition of IK _Ca/SK _Ca channels (TRAM-34 plus UCL1684) or BK _Ca channels (iberiotoxin) reduced ISO-induced relaxation only in Uni rats and abolished the relaxation differences between the groups. The expression of SK _Ca channel was decreased in DOCA-salt arteries. The expression of BK _Ca channel α subunit was increased whereas the expression of BK _Ca channel β subunit was decreased in DOCA-salt arteries. The expression of receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1), which is a binding protein for BK _Ca channel and negatively modulates its activity, was increased in DOCA-salt arteries. These results suggest that the impairment of β-AR-mediated relaxation in DOCA-salt mesenteric arteries may be attributable to altered IK _Ca/SK _Ca and/or BK _Ca channels activities rather than cAMP/PKA pathway. Impaired β-AR-stimulated BK _Ca channel activity may be due to the imbalance between its subunit expressions and RACK1 upregulation.