The effects of exogenous and endogenous. NO on myocardial functions such as contraction, relaxation and heart rate have recently gained considerable scientific interest. .NO stimulates myocardial soluble guanylate cyclase to produce cGMP, which activates two major target proteins. A small increase in cGMP levels predominantly inhibits phosphodiesterase III, while high cGMP levels activate cGMP-...

It is generally accepted that inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) facilitates, and thus nitric oxide (NO) inhibits, contractility of skeletal muscle. However, standard assessments of contractility are carried out at a nonphysiological oxygen tension [partial pressure of oxygen (pO2)] that can interfere with NO signaling (95% O2). We therefore examined, in normal and neuronal NOS (nNOS)-de...

PURPOSE Previous studies suggest that Dupuytren's disease is caused by fibroblast and myofibroblast contractility within Dupuytren's nodules; however, the stimulus for cell contractility is unknown. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a serum-derived lysophospholipid mediator that enhances cell contractility by activating the S1P receptor, S1P(2). It is hypothesized that S1P stimulates Dupuytren's...

This study was designed to investigate the potential role of endogenous peroxynitrite (ONOO-) formation in the inhibition of cardiac muscle contractility and mitochondrial respiration during posthypoxic reoxygenation. Isometric contraction of isolated rat left ventricular posterior papillary muscle was virtually eliminated at the end of an exposure to 15 minutes of hypoxia and remained 40+/-5% ...

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to determine the effects of chronic pulmonary insufficiency (PI) on right (RV) and left (LV) ventricular function in young growing swine. METHODS AND RESULTS Six PI and 5 control animals were studied. PI was induced by transcatheter placement of stents across the pulmonary valve. Indices of systolic function (ejection fraction, cardiac output, and cardiac f...

OBJECTIVE This paper comprises a critical assessment of the many competing ways of assessing detrusor contractility in the urodynamic clinic. It is based on measurements made in a group of elderly women, and the conclusions apply, strictly speaking, only to that population. Detrusor contractility has two aspects, which appear to be independent of each other: the strength of the detrusor contrac...

OBJECTIVE To determine if bradycardia during hyperbaric exposure is accompanied by a negative influence on myocardial contractility. METHODS Accelerometer-based registration of myocardial compression waves with Seismocardiography (SCG) for noninvasive contractility monitoring. Comparative pulmonary artery (PA) catheter study (9 ICU-patients, mean = 67ys) with ejection-fraction (EF) equivalent...