We assessed the roles of the protein kinase C (PKC) and the tyrosine kinase (TK) signaling pathways in regulating capacitative calcium entry (CCE) in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and investigated the effects of intravenous anesthetics (midazolam, propofol, thiopental, ketamine, etomidate, morphine, and fentanyl) on CCE in human PASMCs. Fura-2-loaded human PASMCs were plac...

Insulin has previously been shown to attenuate vasoconstrictor responses to pressor agonists and accelerate vascular smooth muscle relaxation and vascular smooth muscle Ca2+ efflux. To further determine the role of insulin in regulating vascular smooth muscle Ca2+, quiescent A7r5 cultured vascular smooth muscle cells and human vascular smooth muscle cells were incubated with or without 10(-7) o...

BACKGROUND Increasing sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) uptake activity is a promising therapeutic approach for heart failure. We investigated the effects of different levels of SERCA1a expression on contractility and Ca2+ cycling. We tested whether increased SERCA1a expression levels enhance myocyte contractility in a gene-dose-dependent manner. METHODS AND RESULTS ...

The mechanisms underlying intracellular Ca2+ waves induced by either mechanical or receptor-mediated stimulation of myocytes isolated from the longitudinal muscle layer of the rabbit distal colon were compared using fura 2 and fluorescence videomicroscopy. Light focal mechanical deformation of the plasma membrane or focal application of substance P resulted in localized intracellular Ca2+ conce...

Excitotoxicity results in a significant increase in Ca2+ influx; essentially from open N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) channels that cause a secondary rise in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. It is correlated with neuronal death induced by Ca2+ overload. Dysfunction of NMDARs is associated with excitotoxic neuronal death in neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, the effects of...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) can generate afterdepolarizations, and these have the potential to initiate arrhythmias. Therefore, an association may exist between spontaneous SR Ca2+ release and initiation of atrial fibrillation (AF), but this has not yet been reported. METHODS AND RESULTS Spontaneous Ca2+ release from the SR, manifested as Ca2+ spar...

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release, through the ryanodine receptor (RyR), is essential for the systolic Ca2+ transient and thus the cardiac contractile function. The aim of this study was to examine the effects on the spatial organization of the systolic Ca2+ transient of depressing RyR open probability (P(o)) with tetracaine or intracellular acidification. Voltage-clamped, fluo-3-loaded ...

Metabotropic receptors modulate numerous cellular processes by intracellular Ca2+ signaling, but less is known about their role in regulating mitochondrial metabolic function within the CNS. In this study, we demonstrate in area CA3 of rat organotypic hippocampal slice cultures that glutamatergic, serotonergic, and muscarinic metabotropic receptor ligands, namely trans-azetidine-2,4-dicarboxyli...

AIMS The aim of the study was to obtain further information regarding the modes of action of doxazosin, naftopidil and nifedipine on platelet function. METHODS We conducted an in vitro study of drug influences on adrenaline and collagen-induced mobilization of platelet calcium. RESULTS In the presence of fibrinogen (300 micrograms ml-1) both collagen (5 micrograms ml-1) and adrenaline (16 m...

To elucidate the mechanism of contractile dysfunction in postischemic ("stunned") myocardium, time-resolved measurements of intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) were made using gated 19F nuclear magnetic resonance in seven perfused ferret hearts loaded with the fluorinated Ca2+ indicator 5F-BAPTA. Left ventricular developed pressure decreased to 65 +/- 3% (mean +/- SEM) of control af...