We have previously reported that bradykinin (BK) represents an influential mitogenic agent in normal breast glandular tissue. We here investigated the mitogenic effects and the signalling pathways of BK in primary cultured human epithelial breast cells obtained from a tumour and from the histologically proven non-malignant tissue adjacent to the tumour. BK provoked cell proliferation, increase ...

Taking into account a previous report of an unidentified enzyme from macrophages acting as a kininase, the ability of cysteine proteases to degrade kinins has been investigated. Wild-type fibroblast lysates from mice, by contrast with cathepsin K-deficient lysates, hydrolysed BK (bradykinin), and released two metabolites, BK-(1-4) and BK-(5-9). Cathepsin K, but not cathepsins B, H, L and S, cle...

Human organic anion transporter (hOAT) 3 belongs to a family of organic anion transporters that play critical roles in the body disposition of numerous clinically important drugs. In the current study, we examined the regulation of hOAT3 by peptide hormone bradykinin (BK) in COS-7 cells. BK (<or=500 nM) induced a concentration- and time-dependent stimulation of hOAT3 activity, kinetically revea...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There is limited information regarding BK virus nephropathy in pediatric kidney transplantation. The objective of this study was to evaluate cases of BK virus nephropathy in the North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies database. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Using a questionnaire that was sent to North American Pediatric Renal T...

BACKGROUND Reactivation of polyomavirus type BK (BK virus) is increasingly recognized as a cause of severe renal-allograft dysfunction. Currently, patients at risk for nephropathy due to infection with the BK virus are identified by the presence of cells containing viral inclusion bodies ("decoy cells") in the urine or by biopsy of allograft tissue. METHODS In a retrospective analysis, we per...

Large-conductance Ca(2+) and voltage-dependent K(+) channels (BK channels) in many tissues require high Ca(2+) concentrations for activation and therefore might be expected to be tightly coupled to Ca(2+) channels. However, in most cases, little is known about the relative organization of the BK channels and the Ca(2+) channels involved in their activation. We probed the nature of the organizat...

The mechanism of pain relief by low–power laser (Ga–Al–As diode laser, 16.2 mW) irradiation was studied using the patch–clamp technique in cultured mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons as sociated with C–fiber. Bradykinin (BK) and laser stimulation was limited to the process or the cell body using a specially developed separator. The action potentials of the cell body after BK application to the ...

We evaluated the role of the renal angiotensin II type 2 (AT2) receptor in blood pressure regulation in rats with 2-kidney, 1 figure-8 wrap (Grollman) hypertension. Renal wrapping increased systolic blood pressure (SBP). Renal interstitial fluid (RIF) bradykinin (BK), nitric oxide end-products (NOX), and cGMP were higher in the contralateral intact kidney than in the wrapped kidney. In rats wit...

Cholinergic inhibition of cochlear hair cells via olivocochlear (OC)-efferent feedback is mediated by Ca(2+) entry through α9-/α10-nicotinic receptors, but the nature of the K(+) channels activated by this Ca(2+) entry has been debated (Yoshida N, Hequembourg SJ, Atencio CA, Rosowski JJ, Liberman MC. J Neurophysiol 85: 84-88, 2001). A recent in vitro study (Wersinger E, McLean WJ, Fuchs PA, Pyo...

Our previous study demonstrated that increased Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channel activity played a key role in the normal adaptation of reduced myogenic tone of uterine arteries in pregnancy. The present study tested the hypothesis that chronic hypoxia during gestation inhibits pregnancy-induced upregulation of BK(Ca) channel function in uterine arteries. Resistance-sized uterine arteries ...