The stimulatory effect of the extract of Portulaca oleracea (P. olerace) on β-adrenoceptor of tracheal smooth muscle was examined. To examine β-adrenoceptor stimulatory effect, concentration response curve to isoprenaline was obtained in pre-contracted tracheal smooth muscle in the presence of three concentrations of aqueous-ethanolic extract, propranolol and saline. Values of EC50 (the effecti...

OBJECTIVE Proliferation of smooth muscle cells is implicated in cardiovascular complications. Previously, a urea-based soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitor was shown to attenuate smooth muscle cell proliferation. We examined the possibility that urea-based alkanoic acids activate the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) and the role of PPARalpha in smooth...

Complexes containing glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans were released into the culture medium by both smooth and skeletal muscle cells. The particles, termed adherons, from three smooth muscle cell lines promoted cell-substratum adhesion of a clonal sympathetic nerve cell line, PC12. In contrast, the glycoprotein complexes from three skeletal muscle preparations inhibited the adhesion of PC12...

To determine whether vascular smooth muscle cells around intestinal arterioles of various sizes undergo comparable changes in spontaneously hypertensive rats, 4- to 6-week-old (n = 10) and 17- to 19-week-old (n = 10) rats from the Wistar-Kyoto and the spontaneously hypertensive strains were used to study the external morphology of vascular smooth muscle cells by scanning electron microscopy and...

In a previous brief report we demonstrated that differences in aortic smooth muscle mass between spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats were due to smooth muscle cell hypertrophy, without hyperplasia. Smooth muscle cell hypertrophy, however, was accompanied by an increase in the frequency of polyploid cells. This study reports (1) the relationship between changes in smooth muscle cell...

Airway remodelling is an important feature of asthma pathogenesis. A key structural change inherent in airway remodelling is increased airway smooth muscle mass. There is emerging evidence to suggest that the migration of airway smooth muscle cells may contribute to cellular hyperplasia, and thus increased airway smooth muscle mass. The precise source of these cells remains unknown. Increased a...

The myosin 20,000-D regulatory light chain (RLC) has a central role in smooth muscle contraction. Previous work has suggested either the presence of two RLC isoforms, one specific for nonmuscle and one specific for smooth muscle, or the absence of a true smooth muscle-specific isoform, in which instance smooth muscle cells would use nonmuscle isoforms. To address this issue directly, we have is...

The stimulatory effect of the extract of Portulaca oleracea (P. olerace) on β-adrenoceptor of tracheal smooth muscle was examined. To examine β-adrenoceptor stimulatory effect, concentration response curve to isoprenaline was obtained in pre-contracted tracheal smooth muscle in the presence of three concentrations of aqueous-ethanolic extract, propranolol and saline. Values of EC50 (the effecti...