Clinically, nitric oxide (NO*) is widely used as a pulmonary vaso- and bronchodilator agent. However, the precise molecular mechanisms by which NO. induces smooth muscle relaxation are not well established. It has been suggested that NO. relaxes airway smooth muscle (ASM) via a 3',5'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent pathway, and our previous work has shown that Ca2+-activated K+ ...

The activity of voltage-gated ion channels is critical for the maintenance of cellular membrane potential and generation of action potentials. In turn, membrane potential regulates cellular ion homeostasis, triggering the opening and closing of ion channels in the plasma membrane and, thus, enabling ion transport across the membrane. Such transmembrane ion fluxes are important for excitation-co...

Abstract I explain how philosophy, science and theology can continue to work together concerning the issue of ultimate origins. In reply objection that we should try find a scientific explanation rather than accepting conclusion design, KCA-TA demonstrates cannot be one, because first event must have been brought about by First Cause with libertarian freedom not mechanism describable law nature...

Insufficient hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been implicated in Type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy)-related cardiovascular complications. We investigated the role of H2S in T2DM and HHcy-induced endothelial dysfunction in small mesenteric artery (SMA) of db/db mice fed a high methionine (HM) diet. HM diet (8 weeks) induced HHcy in both T2DM db/db mice and non-diabetic db/...

Three classification techniques, namely, K-means Cluster Analysis (KCA), Fuzzy Cluster Analysis (FCA), and Kohonen Neural Networks (KNN) were employed to group 25 microwatersheds of Kherthal watershed, Rajasthan into homogeneous groups for formulating the basis for suitable conservation and management practices. Ten parameters, mainly, morphological, namely, drainage density (Dd), bifurcation r...

Ca2+ release through ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum is a key element of excitation-contraction coupling in muscle. In arterial smooth muscle, Ca2+ release through RyRs activates Ca2+-sensitive K+ (KCa) channels to oppose vasoconstriction. Local Ca2+ transients ("Ca2+ sparks"), apparently caused by opening of clustered RyRs, have been observed in smooth and striated mus...

Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) and short-acting β₂-adrenoceptor agonists (SABAs) play important roles in remedy for COPD. To propel a translational research for development of bronchodilator therapy, synergistic effects between SABAs with LAMAs were examined focused on Ca2+ signaling using simultaneous records of isometric tension and F340/F380 in fura-2-loaded tracheal smooth muscl...

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) respond to odorants with changes in the action potential firing rate. Excitatory responses, consisting of firing increases, are mediated by a cyclic AMP cascade that leads to the activation of cationic nonselective cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels and Ca2+-dependent Cl- (ClCa) channels. This process takes place in the olfactory cilia, where all protein co...

The mechanism by which progesterone causes localized suppression of the immune response during pregnancy has remained elusive. Using human T lymphocytes and T cell lines, we show that progesterone, at concentrations found in the placenta, rapidly and reversibly blocks voltage-gated and calcium-activated K+ channels (KV and KCa, respectively), resulting in depolarization of the membrane potentia...

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) respond to odorants with changes in the action potential firing rate. Excitatory responses, consisting on firing increases, are mediated by a cyclic AMP cascade that leads to the activation of cationic non-selective cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels and Ca-dependent Cl (ClCa) channels. This process takes place in the olfactory cilia, where all protein comp...