OBJECT The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist on esophageal and gastric smooth muscle reactivity in a rat hydrocephalus model. MATERIAL AND METHODS Hydrocephalus was induced in rats by injection of kaolin into the cisterna magna. Two weeks after the procedure, memantine (20 mg/kg per day, 2 weeks) was given to rats with hydro...

The igf1 gene is alternatively spliced as IGF-IEa and IGF-IEc variants in humans. In fibrostenotic Crohn's disease, the fibrogenic cytokine TGF-β1 induces IGF-IEa expression and IGF-I production in intestinal smooth muscle and results in muscle hyperplasia and collagen I production that contribute to stricture formation. Mechano-growth factor (MGF) derived from IGF-IEc induces skeletal and card...

A growing body of data supports a view of the actin cytoskeleton of smooth muscle cells as a dynamic structure that plays an integral role in regulating the development of mechanical tension and the material properties of smooth muscle tissues. The increase in the proportion of filamentous actin that occurs in response to the stimulation of smooth muscle cells and the essential role of stimulus...

Airway remodelling is an important feature of asthma pathogenesis. A key structural change inherent in airway remodelling is increased airway smooth muscle mass. There is emerging evidence to suggest that the migration of airway smooth muscle cells may contribute to cellular hyperplasia, and thus increased airway smooth muscle mass. The precise source of these cells remains unknown. Increased a...

Bindarit, a selective inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCPs) synthesis, reduces neointimal formation in animal models of vascular injury and recently has been shown to inhibit in-stent late loss in a placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial. However, the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of bindarit in controlling neointimal formation/restenosis have not been fully elucidated. The...

RATIONALE Recent findings have demonstrated that muscarinic M(3) receptor stimulation enhances airway smooth muscle proliferation to peptide growth factors in vitro. Because both peptide growth factor expression and acetylcholine release are known to be augmented in allergic airway inflammation, it is possible that anticholinergics protect against allergen-induced airway smooth muscle remodelin...

In this study, we compared the potencies of diosgenin, a plant-derived sapogenin structurally similar to estrogen and progesterone, on vascular smooth muscle functions ranging from contraction and migration to apoptosis. The effects of diosgenin on vascular smooth muscle cell viability and migration were measured using a primary mouse aortic smooth muscle cell culture. The effects of diosgenin ...

The myosin 20,000-D regulatory light chain (RLC) has a central role in smooth muscle contraction. Previous work has suggested either the presence of two RLC isoforms, one specific for nonmuscle and one specific for smooth muscle, or the absence of a true smooth muscle-specific isoform, in which instance smooth muscle cells would use nonmuscle isoforms. To address this issue directly, we have is...

Details of the interdependent, trophic relation between smooth muscle and its neural innervation are not well known despite suggestions that neural influences may contribute significantly to hypertensive and other cardiovascular disease. Vascular smooth muscle is a major target of innervation by neurons of the sympathetic nervous system. Sympathetic neurons depend on a constant supply of the po...