To study the effects of magnesium (Mg2+) on human coronary arteries and to compare those effects with those of diltiazem and nitroglycerin, we measured the tension of ring segments from isolated human coronary arteries obtained at autopsy within 5 hours after death. Precontracted segments with 3 x 10(-6) M prostaglandin F2 alpha were studied after adding cumulative concentrations of these agent...

muscle fatigue assessment has been the basis of numerous studies, specifically, in neuromuscular rehabilitation and the applications of fessystems. various emgbased techniques, in time and frequency domains, have been investigatedover years for the detection and evaluationof this phenomenon. the main objective of this study has beento evaluate the efficiency of applying a number of techniques w...

OBJECTIVE Evaluation of Myofibroblasts by studying expression of Alpha smooth muscle actin: A marker of Fibrosis, Dysplasia and Carcinoma. BACKGROUND Myofibroblasts are cells that have contractile properties and are involved in inflammation, wound healing, fibrosis and oncogenesis in most of the organs and tissues. They are involved in healing and granulation tissue formation which occur afte...

The vascular effects of 15-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HPETE) and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) were investigated on isolated helical strips of canine cerebral and coronary arteries. 15-HPETE caused strong concentration-related contraction of cerebral arteries under resting tension. After contraction with prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha), 15-HPETE caused marked relaxatio...

In the presence of prazosin and propranolol, electrical transmural stimulation of isolated dog mesenteric artery produced a sympathetic purinergic contraction, which was followed by a relaxation in PGF2 alpha-contracted arteries. Such purinergic responses were mimicked by brief exposure to alpha, beta-methylene ATP (alpha, beta-Me ATP) and were completely inhibited after desensitization of P2x-...

Alpha adrenoceptor antagonists have been convincingly shown to be beneficial in reducing both subjective and objective indices of urethral obstruction in benign prostatic hyperplasia. Rec 15/2739 (SB 216469) is a novel alpha-1 adrenoceptor (alpha-1 AR) antagonist currently being developed for benign prostatic hyperplasia. When evaluated in radioligand binding assays with expressed animal or hum...

The endothelins are a family of endothelium-derived peptides that possess a variety of functions, including vasoconstriction. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is up-regulated during tissue repair and promotes myofibroblast contraction and migration, hence contributing to matrix remodeling during tissue repair. Here, we show that addition of ET-1 to normal lung fibroblasts induces expression of proteins that...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE In the present study, the effect of acute lead exposure in the presence and absence of dopamine or alpha (alpha)-adrenoceptor agents on contractile response of rat isolated thoracic aorta was studied. METHODS Male Wistar rats were used in all experiments. Thoracic aorta was carefully removed, cleaned, and cut into 2-mm thick rings. The rings were mounted for measurement o...

In helically cut stripes of monkey coronary arteries of different sizes, contracted with prostaglandin F2 alpha or K+, responses to norepinephrine, epinephrine, isoproterenol, and transmural electrical stimulation were compared. In response to norepinephrine, only contractions were induced in large arteries, contractions at low concentrations and relaxations at high concentrations in medium-siz...