BACKGROUND AND AIMS Chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIIP) is a severe motility disorder associated with significant morbidity. Several histopathological (neuropathic and myopathic) phenotypes have been described but only a single adult with jejunal smooth (circular) muscle alpha-actin deficiency. We present a prospective multinational case series investigating smooth muscle al...

BACKGROUND Airway smooth muscle contraction is critical for maintenance of appropriate airway tone, and has been implicated in asthma pathogenesis. Smooth muscle contraction requires an "engine" (myosin activation) and a "transmission system" (actin cytoskeletal remodeling). However, the mechanisms that control actin remodeling in smooth muscle are not fully elucidated. The adapter protein Crk-...

13 cases of  gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) diagnosed in Kerman university hospitals between 1370-1376 are reviewed.of these cases,6 were male and 7 were female.patients, age ranged between 19 to 70 years with a median of 47.8 years. in 8 cases tumor developed in stomach and in 5 cases it originated from small intestine.all available H & E stained slides were reviewed and PAS and masson...

Injection of chicken gizzard actin into BALB/c mice resulted in the isolation of a smooth muscle-specific monoclonal antibody designated CGA7. When assayed on methanol-Carnoy's fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue, it bound to smooth muscle cells and myoepithelial cells, but failed to decorate striated muscle, endothelium, connective tissue, epithelium, or nerve. CGA7 recognized microfilament bundle...

Cells of an established clonal line (RVF-SMC) derived from rat vena cava are described by light and electron microscope methods and biochemical analysis of the major proteins. The cells are flat, and they moderately elongate and form monolayers. They are characterized by prominent cables of microfilaments bundles decoratable with antibodies to actin and alpha-actinin. These bundles contain nume...

We have purified an actin-binding protein from the plasmodia of a lower eukaryote, Physarum polycephalum, with an apparent molecular mass of 210,000 daltons on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This protein bound to actin filaments with a stoichiometry of 1:7-8 in a Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent manner. Antibody raised against caldesmon from smooth muscle cross-reacted wi...

a 41 year old woman was referred to our center because of a left breast mass lesion of about two months duration. routine pathologic examination of the mass revealed a .neoplastic tissue composed of large ovoid cells with clear cytoplasm arranged in broad sheets that were separated by thin bundles of connective tissue. immunohistochemically tumor cells express smooth muscle actin, cytokeratin, ...

Actin of smooth muscle cells of rat and human aortic media shows a predominance of the alpha-isoform. In experimental rat aortic intimal thickening, in human atheromatous plaque, and in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells, there is a typical switch in actin expression with a predominance of the beta-form and a noticeable amount of gamma-form. This pattern of actin expression represents a new re...

Asthma is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness and airway remodeling, which are largely attributed to increased airway smooth muscle contractility and cell proliferation. It is known that both chemical and mechanical stimulation regulates smooth muscle contraction. Recent studies suggest that contractile activation and mechanical stretch induce actin cytoskeletal remodeling in smooth mus...

Mesangial cell proliferation is common in glomerulonephritis but it is unclear if proliferation is associated with any in vivo alteration in phenotype. We investigated whether mesangial cells acquire smooth muscle-like characteristics in a rat model of mesangial proliferative nephritis induced with antibody to the Thy-i antigen present on mesangial cells. At day 3 glomeruli displayed de novo im...