Non-muscle myosin II (MyoII) contractility is central to the regulation of numerous cellular processes, including migration. Rho is a well-characterized modulator of actomyosin contractility, but the function of other GTPases, such as Rac, in regulating contractility is currently not well understood. Here, we show that activation of Rac by the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Asef2 (also know...

OBJECTIVES We sought to compare left ventricular (LV) systolic stiffness and contractility in normal subjects, hypertensive patients without heart failure, and patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and to determine whether LV systolic stiffness or myocardial contractility is associated with the rate of mortality in patients with HFpEF. BACKGROUND Arterial load is...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of urethral botulinum A toxin (BoNT-A) injection on idiopathic low detrusor contractility and the correlation of this effect with baseline urodynamic parameters. METHODS Twenty-seven patients with idiopathic low detrusor contractility received urethral injection of BoNT-A. Videourodynamic studies were performed at baseline and after treatment. Recovery of ...

The cause of reduced ejection performance in patients with aortic stenosis is controversial. The relative contribution of afterload and contractility was evaluated in 76 patients with pure or predominant valvular aortic stenosis studied by left ventricular micromanometry and quantitative cineangiography. Thirteen patients without detectable heart disease served as controls. The ejection perform...

Abstract Cell crawling on flat substrates stems from intracellular flows of the actin cytoskeleton that are driven by both polymerization at front and myosin contractility back. Optogenetics makes it experimentally possible to spatially control contraction possibly cell migration too. Here we theoretically analyze this situation using a one-dimensional active gel model reflects property II asse...

Impaired left ventricular (LV) contractility is a major cause of cardiovascular death, especially congestive heart failure. The identification of susceptibility genes that contribute to impaired LV contractility may uncover mechanisms underlying LV contractile impairment and the development of congestive heart failure. The Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network (HyperGEN) collected echocardi...

Altered nuclear shape is a defining feature of cancer cells. The mechanisms underlying nuclear dysmorphia in cancer remain poorly understood. Here we identify PPP1R12A and PPP1CB, two subunits of the myosin phosphatase complex that antagonizes actomyosin contractility, as proteins safeguarding nuclear integrity. Loss of PPP1R12A or PPP1CB causes nuclear fragmentation, nuclear envelope rupture, ...

the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerial parts of stachys lavandulifolia vahl. extract on the rat ileum contractions. the crude extract was prepared by maceration method (90% methanol) followed by fractionating into chloroform, ethyl acetate, petroleum ether and water. in adult male wistar rats, ileum was sectioned and mounted in tissue bath and their contractility was reco...

Measurement of left ventricular (LV) function is often overlooked in murine studies, which have been used to analyze the effects of genetic manipulation on cardiac phenotype. The goal of this study was to address the effects of changes in LV contractility on indexes of contractility in mice. LV function was assessed in vivo in closed-chest mice by echocardiography and by LV catheterization usin...

We have reported the linear relation of myocardial oxygen consumption per beat (VO(2)) and systolic pressure-volume area (PVA) in the left ventricle of the cross-circulated rat heart. The VO(2) intercept (PVA-independent VO(2)) is primarily composed of VO(2) for Ca(2+) handling in excitation-contraction coupling and basal metabolism. Recently, we proposed a new index for oxygen cost of contract...