Although it is well established that changes in endothelial intracellular [Ca ] regulate endothelium-dependent vasodilatory pathways, the molecular identities of the ion channels responsible for Ca influx in these cells are not clearly defined. The sole member of the ankyrin (A) transient receptor potential (TRP) subfamily, TRPA1, is a Ca -permeable nonselective cation channel activated by elec...

Dong, Hui, Anders Smith, Marjan Hovaida, and Jimmy Y. Chow. Role of Ca -activated K channels in duodenal mucosal ion transport and bicarbonate secretion. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 291: G1120–G1128, 2006. First published June 8, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00566.2005.—Stimulation of muscarinic receptors in the duodenal mucosa raises cytosolic free Ca concentration ([Ca ]cyt), thereby r...

The activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) by 1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (1S,3R-ACPD) or ibotenate induced a rapid cell volume increase in primary cultures of type 1 astroglial cells from the cerebral cortex of a newborn rat. These relative volume changes and parallel Ca2+ transients in single cells were examined by microspectrofluorimetry after loading the cells...

18 Chronic hypoxia pulmonary hypertension (CH-PHT) in adulthood is likely to be of fetal 19 origin following intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Oxygen (O2)-sensitive voltage20 gated potassium channels (Kv channels) in resistance pulmonary artery smooth muscle 21 cells (PASMCs) play an important role in scaling pulmonary artery pressure. Expression 22 and functional changes of Kv channels a...

RNA was isolated from brains of 16-d-old rats and poly(A) samples were injected into stage V and VI oocytes. After allowing 2-5 d for expression, most oocytes were exposed to medium in which the K had been replaced by Cs for 24 hr prior to recording. Ba currents were usually measured in Cl-free Ba-methanesulfonate saline. IBa in noninjected oocytes was often undetectable, but ranged up to 50 nA...

Casuarina equisetifolia (Casuarinaceae) is considered a medicinal plant and is traditionally used for the treatment of diarrhoea. Preliminary phytochemical screening of methanolic extract of the aerial bark revealed the presence of carbohydrates, alkaloids, proteins, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids and tannins. The extract reduced contractions in isolated ileum induced by spasmogens like ACh, ...

High levels of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and deoxycholic acid stimulate Cl(-) secretion in mammalian colonic epithelia. While different second messengers have been implicated in this action, the specific signaling pathway has not been fully delineated. Using human colon carcinoma T84 cells, we elucidated this cascade assessing Cl(-) transport by measuring I(-) efflux and short-circuit curren...

BACKGROUND The atrioventricular (AV) node is insensitive to changes in extracellular potassium concentration, [K+]o, because of the absence of the inward rectifier potassium current (IK1). However, we propose that in the presence of adenosine, elevated [K+]o should increase the adenosine-activated inward rectifier potassium current (IK,ADO) in AV nodal myocytes and hence augment the negative dr...

We previously characterized a H(+) transport pathway in medullary thick ascending limb nephron segments that when activated stimulated the production of superoxide by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase. Importantly, the activity of this pathway was greater in Dahl salt-sensitive rats than salt-resistant (SS.13(BN)) rats, and superoxide production was enhanced in low Na(+) media...

Today, the scenario of a well-controlled large-scale production of nanoparticles is a very important aspect in nanotechnology. The present work aims at the investigation of different engineering aspects on the production of nanoparticles using microemulsions, which lead to possible process control. Prior to the precipitation process, this study explains that the phase behaviour of the ternary a...