BK channels are voltage- and calcium-dependent potassium channels whose activation tends to reduce cellular excitability. In hippocampal pyramidal cells, BK channels repolarize somatic action potentials, and recent immunogold and electrophysiological analyses have revealed a presynaptic pool of BK channels that can regulate glutamate release. Agents that modulate BK channel activity would therefore be expected to affect cell excitability and neurotransmitter release also under pathological conditions. We have investigated the role of BK potassium channels in a model of ischemia-induced nerve cell degeneration. Organotypical slice cultures of rat hippocampus were exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD), and cell death was assessed by the fluorescent dye propidium iodide. OGD induced cell death in the CA1 region and to a lesser extent in CA3. Treatment with the BK channel blockers, paxilline and iberiotoxin, during and after OGD induced increased cell death in CA1 and CA3. Both BK channel blockers also sensitized the relatively resistant granule cells in fascia dentata to OGD. The effect of paxilline and iberiotoxin was evident from 3 h after OGD, indicating a role of BK channels early in the post-ischemic phase or during OGD itself. The BK channel opener, NS1619, turned out to be gliotoxic, and this effect was not counteracted by paxilline and iberiotoxin. Our data show that blockade of BK channels aggravates OGD-induced cell damage and suggest that BK channels act as a kind of 'emergency brake' during and/or after ischemia. Accordingly, the BK channel is a potential molecular target for neuroprotective therapy in stroke.