Smooth muscle sparklet Cav channels defined: 1.2 is the number

Smooth muscle sparklet Ca(v) channels defined: 1.2 is the number.

SYSTEMIC BLOOD PRESSURE and tissue blood flow are regulated by the contractile status of smooth muscle cells located within the wall of small arteries and arterioles. One important signal that regulates arterial smooth muscle cell contractility is the intracellular calcium ion (Ca ) concentration. Although Ca was once considered to act only as a global intracellular signaling element, research ...

Mechanisms Underlying Heterogeneous Ca2+ Sparklet Activity in Arterial Smooth Muscle

In arterial smooth muscle, single or small clusters of Ca(2+) channels operate in a high probability mode, creating sites of nearly continual Ca(2+) influx (called "persistent Ca(2+) sparklet" sites). Persistent Ca(2+) sparklet activity varies regionally within any given cell. At present, the molecular identity of the Ca(2+) channels underlying Ca(2+) sparklets and the mechanisms that give rise...

Smooth Muscle Cell 2 - 1 Subunits Are Essential for Vasoregulation by CaV 1 . 2 Channels

Vascular Smooth Muscle Calcium Channels

Voltage-gated Ca 21 channels of the plasma membrane open in response to changes in cell membrane potential, providing an important pathway for regulated entry of extracellular Ca ions. Ca channels comprise a family of structurally related proteins displaying tissueand stage-specific expression. They are classified as either high voltage-activated (HVA) or low voltage-activated (LVA) and can be ...

Channels in Smooth Muscle Cells

The effects of sulfhydryl reduction/oxidation on the gating of large-conductance, Ca 2 1 -activated K 1 (maxi-K) channels were examined in excised patches from tracheal myocytes. Channel activity was modified by sulfhydryl redox agents applied to the cytosolic surface, but not the extracellular surface, of membrane patches. Sulfhydryl reducing agents dithiothreitol, b -mercaptoethanol, and GSH ...