In endothelial monolayers agonist-induced influx of Ca(2+) and activities of the actin cytoskeleton have been shown to be crucially involved in regulation of barrier properties. By laser tweezer application we demonstrated that the strength of adhesion of VE-cadherin-coated microspheres to the surface of cultured endothelial monolayers is significantly reduced by treatment with two well-establi...

Changes in the movements of Na+, K+, and Ca+2 across rabbit neutrophils under conditions of lysosomal enzyme release have been studied. We have found that in the presence of cytochalasin B, the chemotactic factor formyl methionyl leucyl phenylalanine (FMLP) induces within 30 s large enhancements in the influxes of both 22Na+ and 45Ca+2 and an increase in the cellular pool of exchangeable calciu...

The interaction of nucleosides with the glucose carrier of human erythrocytes was examined by studying the effect of nucleosides on reversible cytochalasin B-binding activity and glucose transport. Adenosine, inosine and thymidine were more potent inhibitors of cytochalasin B binding to human erythrocyte membranes than was D-glucose [IC50 (concentration causing 50% inhibition) values of 10, 24,...

Cytochalasin B reversibly inhibits cytoplasmic streaming in both Nitella and Avena cells. Colchicine, on the other hand, has no effect on streaming in either plant; nor does colchicine prevent the recovery of streaming after cytochalasin is withdrawn. The inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide has no effect on either streaming itself or on the recovery of streaming after cytochalasin ...

Capacitative calcium entry (CCE) is the process by which intracellular calcium is replenished from the external milieu upon depletion of intracellular stores. CCE is thought to participate in chemotaxis, proliferation and cell signalling. A physical interaction between intracellular stores and the plasma membrane is postulated to regulate CCE. We hypothesized that cytoskeletal disruption alters...

A mutated GLUT1 glucose transporter, a Trp-388, 412 mutant whose tryptophans 388 and 412 were both replaced by leucines, was constructed by site-directed mutagenesis and expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Glucose transport activity was decreased to approx. 30% in the Trp-388, 412 mutant compared with that in the wild type, a similar decrease in transport activity had been observed previo...

The objective of this study was to examine the role of the actin cytoskeleton in the development of pressure-induced membrane depolarization and Ca(2+) influx underlying myogenic constriction in cerebral arteries. Elevating intraluminal pressure from 10 to 60 mmHg induced membrane depolarization, increased intracellular cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) and elicited myogenic constric...

Changes in epithelial cell shape can lead to cell death and detachment. Actin filaments are cleaved during apoptosis, but whether disruption in the actin cytoskeletal network, as one manifestation of cell shape change, can itself induce apoptosis is not known. We tested this hypothesis in the airway epithelial cell line 1HAEo(-) and in primary airway epithelial cells by preventing actin filamen...

BACKGROUND Celecoxib exerted analgesic effects (hypoalgesia) reversed by opioid receptor antagonists in a model of inflammatory pain. To analyze this celecoxib-induced hypoalgesia further, we assessed the effects of several disruptors of cytoskeletal components in our model of inflammation. METHODS Hyperalgesia to mechanical stimuli was induced in rat hind paws by intraplantar injection of ca...

Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) is the primary glucose transport protein of the cardiovascular system and astroglia. A recent study proposes that caffeine uncompetitive inhibition of GLUT1 results from interactions at an exofacial GLUT1 site. Intracellular ATP is also an uncompetitive GLUT1 inhibitor and shares structural similarities with caffeine, suggesting that caffeine acts at the previously...