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Figure 2 The balance of tone in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Activity of voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv) in the smooth muscle cells of resistance pulmonary arteries affects vascular tone. In pulmonary arterial hypertension, the selective loss of Kv channels such as Kv1.5 leads to pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell depolarization, an increase in the intracellular calcium, and both vasoconstriction and cell proliferation.
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