Symposium on Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle

Symposium for Smooth Muscle and Vascular Endothelium.

MicroRNAs Dynamically Remodel Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle Cells

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) express a unique set of microRNAs (miRNAs) which regulate and maintain the differentiation state of SMCs. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of miRNAs during the development of gastrointestinal (GI) SMCs in a transgenic animal model. We generated SMC-specific Dicer null animals that express the reporter, green fluorescence protein, in a SMC-specific ma...

Nitrergic relaxation of gastrointestinal smooth muscle: role of interstitial cells of Cajal and smooth muscle cells

Background The signaling molecule nitric oxide (NO) is known to activate the enzyme NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase (NOGC). By generation of the intracellular second messenger cGMP NO-GC regulates many physiological processes. In the gastrointestinal (GI) tract nitrergic neurons are part of the enteric nervous system which regulates GI motility. In addition, interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are ...

G protein-coupled receptors in gastrointestinal physiology. IV. Neural regulation of gastrointestinal smooth muscle.

G protein-coupled receptors receive many of the neural, hormonal, and paracrine inputs to gastrointestinal (GI) smooth muscle cells. This article examines the major G protein-coupled receptors, G proteins, and effectors that mediate responses to enteric neuromuscular transmitters. Excitatory transmitters primarily couple through Gq/11 and Gi/Go proteins and elicit responses via formation of ino...

Signal-transduction pathways that regulate smooth muscle function. II. Receptor-ion channel coupling mechanisms in gastrointestinal smooth muscle.

Regulation of membrane ion channels by second messengers is an important mechanism by which gastrointestinal smooth muscle excitability is controlled. Receptor-mediated phosphorylation of Ca(2+) channels has been known for some time; however, recent findings indicate that these channels may also modulate intracellular signaling. The plasmalemma ion channels may also function as a point of conve...