Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38134962›Full record

ArticleBiology of reproduction2024

BKCa channels are involved in spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated uterine contraction in late gestation mice†.

Junjie Bao, Xiaofeng Ma, Lindsey N Kent, Monali Wakle-Prabagaran, Ronald McCarthy, Sarah K England

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology of reproduction, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. KCommunications medicine · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Endometriosis and autoimmunity.Autoimmunity reviews · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Junjie BaoPreterm Birth Prevention and Treatment Research Unit, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaofeng MaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Lindsey N KentDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Monali Wakle-PrabagaranDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Ronald McCarthyDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Sarah K EnglandDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Washington University in St. Louis · US

Funding

REGULATION OF UTERINE SMOOTH MUSCLE EXCITABILITYR01HD037831 · NICHD · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI ENGLAND, SARAH K. · 1999 to 2023
$7.0M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD037831NIH HHS R01 HD037831
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The large-conductance, voltage-gated, calcium (Ca2+)-activated potassium channel (BKCa) is one of the most abundant potassium channels in the myometrium. Previous work conducted by our group has identified a link between inflammation, BKCa channels and excitability of myometrial smooth muscle cells. Here, we investigate the role of BKCa channels in spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated uterine contraction to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the BKCa channel and uterine contraction in basal and inflammatory states. Uteri of C57BL/6 J mice on gestational day 18.5 (GD18.5) were obtained and either fixed in formalin or used immediately for tension recording or isolation of primary myocytes for patch-clamp. Paraffin sections were used for immunofluorescenctdetection of BKCa and Toll-like receptor (TLR4). For tension recordings, LPS was administered to determine its effect on uterine contractions. Paxilline, a BKCa inhibitor, was used to dissect the role of BKCa in uterine contraction in basal and inflammatory states. Finally, patch-clamp recordings were performed to investigate the relationship between LPS, the BKCa channel and membrane currents in mouse myometrial smooth muscle cells (mMSMCs). We confirmed the expression of BKCa and TLR4 in the myometrium of GD18.5 mice and found that inhibiting BKCa channels with paxilline suppressed both spontaneous and LPS-stimulated uterine contractions. Furthermore, application of BKCa inhibitors (paxilline or iberiotoxin) after LPS inhibited BKCa channel activity in mMSMCs. Moreover, pretreatment with BKCa inhibitor or the TLR4 inhibitor suppressed LPS-activated BKCa currents. Our study demonstrates that BKCa channels are involved in both basal and LPS-stimulated uterine contraction in pregnant mice.

Indexed as

Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel alpha SubunitsUterine ContractionAnimalsFemaleLarge-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium ChannelsLipopolysaccharidesMiceMice, Inbred C57BLPregnancyToll-Like Receptor 4BKCa protein, mouseLarge-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel alpha SubunitsLarge-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium ChannelsLipopolysaccharidesToll-Like Receptor 4BKCa channelcontractionLPSmyometrium

Identifiers

PMID38134962
PMCPMC11017124
OpenAlexW4390126689

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.