Introduction: The angiotensin 1-7 (Ang1-7) Mas receptor (MasR) axis, bradykinin (BK) and female sex hormone are involved in releasing of vasodilatory biomarkers including Nitric Oxide (NO). We examined the role of MasR and BK on NO metabolite (nitrite) production response to Ang 1-7 infusion in ovariectomized rats treated with estradiol. Methods: A total of 48 female Wistar rats were divided i...

Bradykinin (BK), a proinflammatory factor and vasodilator, causes functional change of the small artery. However, it is not clear whether any of these changes induced by BK are mediated by N-acetyl-D-sphingosine (ceramide). Therefore, we investigated whether BK affects the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin and generation of ceramide in the intact rat small artery. Our results suggest that BK induces ...

The BK virus a member of the Polyomaviruses family was first isolated from the urine of the kidney recipient. Infection with this virus and infection usually occurs in childhood (5-9 years) but most of the time (90%) of sera are positive and without symptoms. Polyomaviruses including the BK virus have also been suggested to be a contributing factor to some cancers in humans such as brain tumors...

BACKGROUND BK nephropathy is an evolving challenge among kidney transplant recipients. Diagnosis of BK nephropathy depends on the presence of BK viral inclusions on renal biopsy. Most cases of BK nephropathy are preceded by BK viremia or viruria. CASE REPORT We report a case of BK nephropathy found on protocol renal transplant biopsy without associated BK viremia or viruria. CONCLUSIONS BK ...

Large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK) channels can regulate cellular excitability in complex ways because they are able to respond independently to two distinct cellular signals, cytosolic Ca(2+) and membrane potential. In rat chromaffin cells (RCC), inactivating BK(i) and noninactivating (BK(s)) channels differentially contribute to RCC action potential (AP) firing behavior. However, th...

The conformers of gaseous bradykinin, BK, (Arg(1)-Pro(2)-Pro(3)-Gly(4)-Phe(5)-Ser(6)-Pro(7)-Phe(8)-Arg(9)) and its protonated forms, [BK + H](+), [BK + 2H](2+), and [BK + 3H](3+), were examined theoretically using a combination of the Merck molecular force field, Hartree-Fock, and density functional theory. Neutral BK, [BK + H](+), and [BK + 2H](2+) exist in zwitterionic forms that are stabiliz...

A peptide with bradykinin (BK)-like immunoreactivity was isolated from an incubate of heat-denatured eel plasma with porcine pancreatic kallikrein. The purified peptide had the following amino acid sequence: Arg-Arg-Pro-Pro-Gly-Ser-Trp-Pro-Leu-Arg. This decapeptide, named eel [Arg(0)]BK, was identical to two previously identified BK homologs from cod and trout. High conservation of the BK seque...