Fibrotic diseases are characterized by the accumulation of extracellular matrix together with distortion and disruption of tissue architecture. Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, by preventing the breakdown of cyclic AMP, can inhibit fibroblast functions and may be able to mitigate tissue remodeling. TGF-β1, a mediator of fibrosis, can potentially modulate cAMP by altering PGE2 metabolism. ...

Inhibitory neurotransmitters, chiefly nitric oxide and vasoactive intestinal peptide, increase cyclic nucleotide levels and inhibit muscle contraction via inhibition of myosin light chain (MLC) kinase and activation of MLC phosphatase (MLCP). H2S produced as an endogenous signaling molecule synthesized mainly from l-cysteine via cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) and cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) reg...

and Martha Vaughan, M.D. T he increase in O tension to which the human umbilical artery is exposed at birth acts in at least two separate but related ways to initiate closure of the vessel. Oxygen itself directly induces constriction.’ It plays further a “permissive” role in the action of other chemical agents that cause contraction.’ The relationship between elevated Po and contraction is beli...

Background/Aims Efficient transport through the esophago-gastric junction (EGJ) requires synchronized circular and longitudinal muscle contraction of the esophagus including relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). However, there is a scarcity of technology for measuring esophagus movements in the longitudinal (axial) direction. The aim of this study is to develop new analytical tool...

The effects of the type V phosphodiesterase (PDE V) inhibitors, MBCQ, zaprinast and dipyridamole, on the relationship between relaxation and cyclic nucleotide content were investigated in rat ileal smooth muscle. Each of MBCQ (0.01-10 microM), zaprinast (0.1-100 microM) and dipyridamole (0.1-100 microM) inhibited carbachol (CCh; 10 microM)-induced contractions in a concentration-dependent manne...

recently, choudhury and metiya [fixed points of weak contractions in cone metric spaces, nonlinear analysis 72 (2010) 1589-1593] proved some fixed point theorems for weak contractions in cone metric spaces. weak contractions are generalizations of the banach's contraction mapping, which have been studied by several authors. in this paper, we introduce the notion of $f$-weak contractions and als...