Investigating how a fat molecule in cell walls is linked to blood vessel narrowing

Defining the role of phosphatidyl 4, 5 bisphosphate on arterial calcium-activated chloride channels

Professor Iain Greenwood and colleagues from St George’s, University of London, have been awarded a 3-year grant to establish how a specific fat molecule in cell walls called phosphatidyl 4, 5 bisphosphate (PIP2) controls the diameter of arteries, which in turn contributes to the control of blood pressure. Recent studies have established that the movement of chloride ions through a pore in the smooth muscle cells of the artery wall, called a chloride channel, affects the physical state of these muscle cells. This is because the flow of chloride ions alters whether another ion channel, which lets calcium into the cell, is open or not. As these muscle cells determine the diameter of a blood vessel and therefore the ease of blood flow and blood pressure, understanding what controls the activity of the chloride channels is very important. The discovery that a specific type of fat molecule controls an ion channel known to increase arterial narrowing is important as it can help us determine what has happened in people with raised blood pressure due to narrowed arteries.