ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2013
Omega-3 fatty acids lower blood pressure by directly activating large-conductance Ca²⁺-dependent K⁺ channels.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 141 citations in OpenAlex.
- The beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on controlling blood pressure: An umbrella meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Moderate Dietary Supplementation with Omega-3 Fatty Acids Does Not Impact Plasma Von Willebrand Factor Profile in Mildly Hypertensive Subjects.BioMed research international · 2015Trial
- DHA-enriched high-oleic acid canola oil improves lipid profile and lowers predicted cardiovascular disease risk in the canola oil multicenter randomized controlled trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2014Trial
- Dietary omega-3 fatty acids modulate the eicosanoid profile in man primarily via the CYP-epoxygenase pathway.Journal of lipid research · 2014Trial
- Potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Targeted bacteriophage T4 nanoparticles reverse HIV-1 latency in human T cell line models.iScience · 2025Article
- High-Salt Diets, Intestinal Barrier, and Hypertension: A Mechanistic Review and the Promise of Dietary Therapy.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Docosahexaenoic acid protects against alcohol-induced constriction of cerebral arteries and inhibition of vascular smooth muscle BK channels.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- Pulmonary Circulation Under Pressure: Pathophysiological and Therapeutic Implications of BK Channel.Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2025Review
- Mediterranean Diet as a Therapeutic Strategy for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Health.International journal of hypertension · 2025Review
- Molecular Insights into Single-Chain Lipid Modulation of Acid-Sensing Ion Channel 3.The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2024Article
- Molecular Insights into Single Chain Lipid Modulation of Acid-Sensing Ion Channel 3.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Insights into3 Biotech · 2023Article
- Peroxisome Deficiency in Cochlear Hair Cells Causes Hearing Loss by Deregulating BK Channels.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Article
- Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation Increases HDL Content in n-3 Fatty Acids and Improves Endothelial Function in Hypertriglyceridemic Patients.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Positive association between omega-3/6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Article
- The association of lipid-lowering therapy and blood pressure control among outpatients with hypertension at the Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Article
- ASIC3, a proton-gated ion channel with preference for polyunsaturated lipids with specific headgroup and tail properties.The Journal of general physiology · 2022Article
- Article
- Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-induced vasodilation in mouse aorta and mesenteric arteries is not mediated by ATP-sensitive potassium channels.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found abundantly in oily fish, may have diverse health-promoting effects, potentially protecting the immune, nervous, and cardiovascular systems. However, the mechanisms underlying the purported health-promoting effects of DHA remain largely unclear, in part because molecular signaling pathways and effectors of DHA are only beginning to be revealed. In vascular smooth muscle cells, large-conductance Ca(2+)- and voltage-activated K(+) (BK) channels provide a critical vasodilatory influence. We report here that DHA with an EC50 of ∼500 nM rapidly and reversibly activates BK channels composed of the pore-forming Slo1 subunit and the auxiliary subunit β1, increasing currents by up to ∼20-fold. The DHA action is observed in cell-free patches and does not require voltage-sensor activation or Ca(2+) binding but involves destabilization of the closed conformation of the ion conduction gate. DHA lowers blood pressure in anesthetized wild-type but not in Slo1 knockout mice. DHA ethyl ester, contained in dietary supplements, fails to activate BK channels and antagonizes the stimulatory effect of DHA. Slo1 BK channels are thus receptors for long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, and these fatty acids--unlike their ethyl ester derivatives--activate the channels and lower blood pressure. This finding has practical implications for the use of omega-3 fatty acids as nutraceuticals for the general public and also for the critically ill receiving omega-3-enriched formulas.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.