NO-mediated activation of KATP channels contributes to cutaneous thermal hyperemia in young adults

Local skin heating to 42 degrees C causes cutaneous thermal hyperemia largely via nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS)-related mechanisms. We assessed the hypothesis that ATP-sensitive K+ (K-ATP) channels interact with NOS to mediate cutaneous thermal hyperemia. In 13 young adults (6 women, 7 men), cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) was measured at four intradermal microdialysis sites that were continuously perfused with 1) lactated Ringer solution (control), 2) 5 mM glibenclamide (K-ATP channel blocker), 3) 20 mM N-G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (NOS inhibitor), or 4) a combination of K-ATP channel blocker and NOS inhibitor. Local skin heating to 42 degrees C was administered at all four treatment sites to elicit cutaneous thermal hyperemia. Thirty minutes after the local heating, 1.25 mM pinacidil (K-ATP channel opener) and subsequently 25 mM sodium nitroprusside (NO donor) were administered to three of the four sites (each 25-30 min). The local heating-induced prolonged elevation in CVC was attenuated by glibenclamide (19%), but the transient initial peak was not. However, glibenclamide had no effect on the prolonged elevation in CVC in the presence of NOS inhibition. Pinacidil caused an elevation in CVC, but this response was abolished at the glibenclamide-treated skin site, demonstrating its effectiveness as a K-ATP channel blocker. The pinacidil-induced increase in CVC was unaffected by NOS inhibition, whereas the increase in CVC elicited by sodium nitroprusside was partly (15%) inhibited by glibenclamide. In summary, we showed an interactive effect of K-ATP channels and NOS for the plateau of cutaneous thermal hyperemia. This interplay may reflect a vascular smooth muscle cell K-ATP channel activation by NO.