An improved method for quantitating the extent of myosin light chain (P-LC) phosphorylation in small smooth muscle samples is described. Native myosin was isolated from other cellular proteins in a crude supernatant fraction prepared from a few milligrams of bovine tracheal smooth muscle by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in the presence of sodium pyrophosphate (PPi). When potassium i...

Darby, Peter J., C. Y. Kwan, and Edwin E. Daniel. Caveolae from canine airway smooth muscle contain the necessary components for a role in Ca handling. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 279: L1226–L1235, 2000.—To explain that bronchial smooth muscle undergoes sustained agonist-induced contractions in a Ca-free medium, we hypothesized that caveolae in the plasma membrane (PM) contain protected ...

Jones, Keith A., Robert R. Lorenz, Y. S. Prakash, Gary C. Sieck, and David O. Warner. ATP hydrolysis during contraction of permeabilized airway smooth muscle. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 21): L334–L342, 1999.— This study determined whether the time-dependent decline in the rate of ATP hydrolysis by actomyosin ATPase during sustained isometric force can occur in the absence of ...

Canine trachealis muscle will shorten by 70% of resting length when maximally stimulated in vitro. In contrast, trachealis muscle will shorten by only 30-40% when stimulated in vivo. To examine the possibility that an elastic load applied by the tracheal cartilage contributes to the in vivo limitation of shortening, single pairs of sonomicrometry crystals were inserted into the trachealis muscl...

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the functional effects and mechanisms of action rosuvastatin on vascular tracheal smooth muscle tissues. 
 Materials Methods: Vascular rings (2-3 mm) isolated from thoracic aortas, pulmonary arteries, tracheas Wistar Albino male rats (250-300 g) were placed in chambers tissue bath system. As resting tension, 1 g was selected. contracted with 10-6 M ph...

Anesthetic management of patients with mediastinal masses remains challenging as acute cardiorespiratory decompensation may follow induction of anesthesia. We describe a 57 year old lady with massive retrosternal goiter and severe intrathoracic tracheal compression who had a total thyroidectomy. Comprehensive contingency plans were an essential prerequisite for successful management of difficul...

In view of the severe damage caused by unyielding, low residual volume cuffs, various modifications to the cuff of an intratracheal tube have been introduced. The merits of two low-pressure cuffs were assessed in an experimental study in dogs; both cuffs produced little visible damage to the tracheal wall in dogs intubated continuously over a two-week period. A modified technique of producing t...

The transmembrane glycoprotein CD38 in airway smooth muscle is the source of cyclic-ADP ribose, an intracellular calcium-releasing molecule, and is subject to regulatory effects of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-13, a cytokine implicated in asthma. We investigated the role of CD38 in airway hyperresponsiveness using a mouse model of IL-13-induced airway disease. Wild-type (WT) and CD38-defi...

BACKGROUND Sodium metabisulphite (MBS) is known to induce bronchoconstriction in asthmatic patients. The effects of MBS on guinea pig airway smooth muscle and on neurally mediated contraction in vitro have been examined. METHODS Tracheal and bronchial airway segments were placed in oxygenated buffer solution and electrical field stimulation was performed in the presence of indomethacin (10(-5...

The frequency of muscle pain was studied in two groups of patients. One group consisted of 106 women undergoing Caesarean section; the other comprised 20 pre-menopausal women undergoing hysterectomy. Both groups received a single bolus injection of suxamethonium 100 mg to facilitate tracheal intubation. There was a statistically significant decrease in the frequency of muscle pain in the pregna...