Regulation of human penile smooth muscle tone byprostanoid receptors

Expression and regulation of endothelin-1 and its receptors in human penile smooth muscle cells.

We report for the first time that penile smooth muscle cells (SMC) not only respond to, but also synthesize, endothelin-1 (ET-1), one of the main regulators of SMC activity. Immunohistochemical studies indicated that, beside endothelial cells (EC), SMC of the human adult and fetal penis also express ET-1 and its converting enzyme, ECE-1. Accordingly, cultures of adult penile stromal cells expre...

Reflex regulation of airway smooth muscle tone.

Autonomic nerves in most mammalian species mediate both contractions and relaxations of airway smooth muscle. Cholinergic-parasympathetic nerves mediate contractions, whereas adrenergic-sympathetic and/or noncholinergic parasympathetic nerves mediate relaxations. Sympathetic-adrenergic innervation of human airway smooth muscle is sparse or nonexistent based on histological analyses and plays li...

Regulation of arterial tone by smooth muscle myosin type II.

The initiation of contractile force in arterial smooth muscle (SM) is believed to be regulated by the intracellular Ca2+ concentration and SM myosin type II phosphorylation. We tested the hypothesis that SM myosin type II operates as a molecular motor protein in electromechanical, but not in protein kinase C (PKC)-induced, contraction of small resistance-sized cerebral arteries. We utilized a S...

Smooth Muscle Tone

The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms associated with the reciprocal relation between magnesium and calcium on vascular smooth muscle tone in bovine pulmonary artery and vein. Rapid removal of magnesium from Krebs-bicarbonate medium used to bathe isolated rings of precontracted artery or vein caused transient endotheliumand calciumdependent relaxation and cyclic GMP accumu...

Sodium gradient, smooth muscle tone, and blood pressure regulation.