Neuronal release of noradrenaline is primarily responsible for the contraction of prostatic smooth muscle in all species, and this forms the basis for the use of α(1)-adrenoceptor antagonists as pharmacotherapies for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Previous studies in mice have demonstrated that a residual nonadrenergic component to nerve stimulation remains after α(1)-adrenoceptor antagonism. In...

BACKGROUND Airway fibrosis is one of the pathological features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and recent studies revealed that acetylcholine plays an important role in the development of airway remodeling by stimulating proliferation and collagen synthesis of lung fibroblasts. This study was designed to examine the effects of a long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonist (LAMA)...

Certain flavonoids inhibit antigen-induced release of histamine from mast cells and basophils and also inhibit contraction of guinea pig ileum induced by histamine, acetylcholine, and PGE2. We examined the effect of one flavonoid, quercetin, on anaphylactic smooth muscle contraction of ileum from guinea pigs sensitized to egg albumin. Quercetin inhibited both the phasic and tonic components of ...

Recently, intracavernous injection of some vasoactive drugs has been performed for the diagnosis and treatment of impotence. Despite extensive studies the mechanism of erection is still obscure. Therefore, the author studied the effects of some vasoactive drugs on isolated rabbit corpus cavernosum penis. Norepinephrine, phenylephrine or clonidine caused contraction of isolated rabbit corpus cav...

SJ-200 (Himcospaz), an herbal preparation, was investigated for antispasmodic activity on gastrointestinal smooth muscles of guinea pig, rats, rabbits, and mice. SJ-200 dosedependently inhibited acetylcholine, histamine and barium chloride-induced contraction of guinea pig ileum. It inhibited spontaneous contraction of rabbit and rat colon. Oxytocininduced contraction of rat uterus was also inh...

Three different types of isolated nerve-synapse preparations, guinea pig ileum, rat vas deferens and toad heart, were used to investigate the physiological activity of Huwentoxin-I, a neurotoxin from the venom of the spider Selenocosmia huwena. The twitch response of isolated guinea pig ileum induced by electrical stimulus can be inhibited by HWTX-I. After blockage, contraction of the ileum can...

Methanolic extract of Heteropogon contortus (L.) Beauv was screened for Bronchorelaxation (in vitro anti-histaminic) and in vivo anti-inflammatory effects. Bronchorelaxation effect was evaluated in terms of inhibition of histamine and acetylcholine induced contraction in guinea pig tracheal chain. Anti-inflammatory effect was assessed using carrageenan and egg albumin induced inflammation in ra...

This paper is concerned with the role of acetylcholine-like substances in the sympathetic innervation of the spleen. The presence of cholinergic fibres in the sympathetic nerve supply to the cat's spleen was deduced by Burn & Rand (1960c) from observations on the response of the spleen of reserpine-treated cats to splenic nerve stimulation. Stimulation of the splenic nerve in a normal cat relea...

BACKGROUND Anesthetics inhibit airway smooth muscle contraction in part by a direct effect on the smooth muscle cell. This study tested the hypothesis that the anesthetics halothane and hexanol, which both relax airway smooth muscle in vitro, inhibit acetylcholine-promoted nucleotide exchange at the alpha subunit of the Gq/11 heterotrimeric G protein (Galphaq/11; i.e., they inhibit muscarinic r...

OBJECTIVE Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is expressed in arteries during inflammation and may contribute to vascular dysfunction. Effects of gene transfer of iNOS to carotid arteries were examined in vitro in the absence of systemic inflammation to allow examination of mechanisms by which iNOS impairs contraction and relaxation. METHODS AND RESULTS After gene transfer of iNOS with an ...