This study focused on the mechanisms of the negative inotropic response to bradykinin (BK) in isolated rat hearts perfused at constant flow. BK (100 nM) significantly reduced developed left ventricular pressure (LVP) and the maximal derivative of systolic LVP by 20-22%. The cytochrome P-450 (CYP) inhibitors 1-aminobenzotriazole (1 mM and 100 microM) or proadifen (5 microM) abolished the cardiod...

Bradykinin (BK) plays an important role in different physiological processes including the general preservation and modulation of vascular systems. The present study was designed in order to examine the effect of BK on isolated rat femoral artery rings and to investigate the participation of intact endothelium, cyclooxygenase products, Ca(2+) channels, Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase, and B2 kinin receptors ...

The antibacterial activity of BK-218 was similar to that of cefamandole when it was tested against several laboratory strains. The inhibiting effect of BK-218 was greater than that of cephalexin and cefoxitin on penicillin-binding proteins of Escherichia coli HB101. This result was in close correlation with the relative inhibition of radiolabeled glucosamine incorporation (greatest with BK-218)...

Estrogens have an important role in regulating detrusor smooth muscle (DSM) function. However, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms by which estrogens control human DSM excitability and contractility are not well known. Here, we used human DSM specimens from open bladder surgeries on 27 patients to elucidate the mechanism by which 17β-estradiol regulates large conductance voltage- a...

The hydrolysis of bradykinin (Bk) by different classes of proteases in plasma and tissues leads to a decrease in its half-life. Here, Bk actions on smooth muscle and in vivo cardiovascular assays in association with a protease inhibitor, Black eyed-pea trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor (BTCI) and also under the effect of trypsin and chymotrypsin were evaluated. Two synthetic Bk-related peptide...

We have used an established cell line of rabbit cortical collecting duct (RCCD) epithelial cells representing a mixed population of principal and intercalated cell types to determine which phospholipase A2(PLA2) enzyme therein is responsible for bradykinin (BK)-stimulated arachidonic acid (AA) release and how its activation is regulated. BK-stimulated AA release was reduced 92% by arachidonyl t...

Large-conductance Ca2(+)-activated K+ channels (BK) regulate action potential (AP) properties and excitability in many central neurons. However, the properties and functional roles of BK channels in parasympathetic cardiac motoneurons (PCMNs) in the nucleus ambiguus (NA) have not yet been well characterized. In this study, the tracer X-rhodamine-5 (and 6)-isothiocyanate (XRITC) was injected int...

Recently, we have reported that bradykinin (Bk)-induced vasodilation was selectively potentiated by a low concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by xanthine/xanthine oxidase system (XOX) in the coronary circulation of the isolated guinea pig heart. In an attempt to identify a mechanism of Bk response that is amplified by XOX, we analyze here the involvement of B1/ B2 receptors...

The potentiation of kinin actions represents a cardioprotective property of ACE inhibitors. Although a clear contribution to this effect is related to the inhibition of bradykinin (BK) breakdown, the high efficacy of potentiation and the ability of ACE inhibitors to provoke a B(2)-receptor-mediated response even after receptor desensitization has also triggered hypotheses concerning additional ...

We present a review of the clinically oriented literature about BK virus, a relative of JC virus, which is the etiologic agent of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The kidney, lung, eye, liver, and brain have been proposed as sites of BK virus-associated disease, both primary and reactivated. BK virus has also been detected in tissue specimens from a variety of neoplasms. We bel...