Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) and short-acting β₂-adrenoceptor agonists (SABAs) play important roles in remedy for COPD. To propel a translational research for development of bronchodilator therapy, synergistic effects between SABAs with LAMAs were examined focused on Ca2+ signaling using simultaneous records of isometric tension and F340/F380 in fura-2-loaded tracheal smooth muscl...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Small conductance calcium-activated potassium (KCa 2.x) channels have a widely accepted canonical function in regulating cellular excitability. In this study, we address a potential non-canonical function of KCa 2.x channels in breast cancer cell survival, using in vitro models. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH The expression of all KCa 2.x channel isoforms was initially probed us...

Kandelia rheedii (locally known as Guria or Rasunia), widely found and used in Indian subcontinent, is a well-known herbal cure to tuberculosis. However, neither the mechanism nor the active components of the plant extract responsible for mediating this action has yet been confirmed. Here in this study, molecular interactions of three compounds (emodin, fusaric acid and skyrin) from the plant e...

Allergic airway inflammation and asthma have emerged as major public health problem in the Midwest, United States of America. Targeting Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling and Calcium-activated Chloride (ClCa)/Potassium (KCa) Channels in unraveling the cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying genetic susceptibility to inflammatory diseases in specific human patient population subset(s) is emergi...

Arterial smooth muscle cell large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium (K(Ca)) channels have been implicated in modulating hypoxic dilation of systemic arteries, although this is controversial. K(Ca) channel activity in arterial smooth muscle cells is controlled by localized intracellular Ca(2+) transients, termed Ca(2+) sparks, but hypoxic regulation of Ca(2+) sparks and K(Ca) channel activa...

Malinina E, Druzin M, Johansson S. Differential control of spontaneous and evoked GABA release by presynaptic L-type Ca channels in the rat medial preoptic nucleus. J Neurophysiol 104: 200–209, 2010. First published May 12, 2010; doi:10.1152/jn.00570.2009. To clarify the role of presynaptic L-type Ca channels in GABA-mediated transmission in the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN), spontaneous, minia...

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of estrogen on the expression of calcium-activated potassium (KCa) channels in an overactive bladder rat model. To this end, mRNA and protein levels of KCa channel subtypes in the bladder of ovariectomized rats were measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. METHODS Ten-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats w...

Ca release through ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum is a key element of excitation-contraction coupling in muscle. In arterial smooth muscle, Ca release through RyRs activates Ca-sensitive K (KCa) channels to oppose vasoconstriction. Local Ca 21 transients (“Ca sparks”), apparently caused by opening of clustered RyRs, have been observed in smooth and striated muscle. We ...

When the urinary bladder is full, activation of parasympathetic nerves causes release of neurotransmitters that induce forceful contraction of the detrusor muscle, leading to urine voiding. The roles of ion channels that regulate contractility of urinary bladder smooth muscle (UBSM) in response to activation of parasympathetic nerves are not well known. The present study was designed to charact...