Fuchsia magellanica Lam. (Onagraceae) is a native plant of the Andean-Patagonian region, and it also naturalized in Argentina other parts world. Leaves are used for treating indigestion, stomachache, as sedative, difficult delivery antiemmenagogue. However, up to now pharmacological basis such uses were not studied. This work evaluates gastrointestinal, uterine sedative effects leaves (L) flowe...

Depletion of Ca2+ pools using the irreversible Ca2+ pump blocker, thapsigargin, induces DDT1MF-2 smooth muscle cells to enter a stable nonproliferative state. Reversal of this state can be mediated by high (20%) serum treatment, which induces new Ca2+ pump protein, return of Ca2+ pools, and reentry of cells into the cell cycle; the effect of serum can be mimicked by the essential fatty acids (E...

Excessive cardiac fibrosis, characterized by increased collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, is a major predisposing factor for mechanical and electrical dysfunction in heart failure (HF). The human ventricular fibroblast (hVF) remodeling mechanisms that cause excessive collagen deposition in HF are unclear, although reports suggest a role for intracellular free Ca2+ in fibrosis....

Background: Sperm cryopreservation-thawing process has damaging effects on the structure and function of sperm, namely cryoinjury. Calcium overload has been reported as a postulated mechanism for sperm damage during the first steps after thawing. This study was designed to assess the intracellular calcium (Ca2+i) after cryopreservation and to clarify the role of a calcium chelator ethylene glyc...

We explored, by mutational substitutions and kinetic analysis, possible roles of the four residues involved in the hydrogen-bonding or ionic interactions found in the Ca2+-bound structure of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, Tyr(122)-Arg(324), and Glu(123)-Arg(334) at the top part of second transmembrane helix (M2) connected to the A domain and fourth transmembrane helix (M4) in the P domain....

During the process of enhancing monocytic differentiation of the human leukemia line HL-60, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) also "primes" the cell for respiratory burst by increasing the uptake of Ca2+ across the plasma membrane (Hruska, K.A., Bar-Shavit, Z., Malone, J.D., and Teitelbaum, S.L. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 16039-16044). The present study asked if the maturational effect of ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the early changes in coagulation functions in patients with different degrees of Acute Pancreatitis (AP). Data from a total of 133 AP patients was studied. The differences in the Prothrombin Time (PT), Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT), Fibrinogen Concentration (FIB), International Normalized Ratio (INR), and serum Ca2+ levels among different ...

Acute hypoxia modulates various cell processes, such as cell excitability, through the regulation of ion channel activity. Given the central role of Ca2+ signaling in the physiological functioning of astrocytes, we have investigated how acute hypoxia regulates such signaling, and compared results with those evoked by bradykinin (BK), an agonist whose ability to liberate Ca2+ from intracellular ...

Ca2+ entry through store-operated Ca2+release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels is essential for T-cell activation and proliferation. Recently, it has been shown that 3,5-bistrifluoromethyl pyrazole (BTP) derivatives are specific inhibitors of Ca2+-dependent transcriptional activity in T-cells (Trevillyan, J. M., Chiou, X. G., Chen, Y. W., Ballaron, S. J., Sheets, M. P., Smith, M. L., Wiedeman, P....

The aim of the study was to test whether the source of intracellular calcium (Ca2+) is a determinant of beta cell function. We hypothesized that elevations in cytosolic Ca2+ caused by the release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) have little physiologic impact on oxygen consumption and insulin secretion. Ca2+ release from the ER was induced in isolated rat islets by acetylcholine and ...