At the end of development, organs acquire functionality, thereby ensuring autonomy of an organism when it separates from its mother or a protective egg. In insects, respiratory competence starts when the tracheal system fills with gas just before hatching of the juvenile animal. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of this process are not fully understood. Analyses of the phenotype of Drosophila e...

The large conductance, calcium-activated (BK-type) potassium channels are regulators of voltage-dependent calcium entry in many cell types. The BK channel accessory β1 subunit promotes channel activation in smooth muscle and is required for proper tone in the vasculature and bladder. However, although BK channels have also been implicated in airway smooth muscle function, their regulation by th...

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is an environmental trigger that leads to airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in susceptible individuals and animals, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Substance P (SP) release from sensory nerve fibers has been linked to AHR. The present experiments characterize the role of SP in tracheal smooth muscle on ETS-increased ...

At the end of development, organs acquire functionality, thereby ensuring autonomy of an organism when it separates from its mother or a protective egg. In insects, respiratory competence starts when the tracheal system fills with gas just before hatching of the juvenile animal. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of this process are not fully understood. Analyses of the phenotype of Drosophila e...

The response of canine tracheal and bronchial smooth muscle to i.a. administered agonists causing smooth muscle contraction was compared in 22 mongrel dogs in vivo. Tracheal and bronchial contractile responses were measured isometrically in situ in the same dogs. In nine dogs, dose-response curves were generated with i.a. acetylcholine and histamine (10(-10) to 10(-6) mol) in a 4-cm tracheal se...

At the end of development, organs acquire functionality, thereby ensuring autonomy of an organism when it separates from its mother or a protective egg. In insects, respiratory competence starts when the tracheal system fills with gas just before hatching of the juvenile animal. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of this process are not fully understood. Analyses of the phenotype of Drosophila e...

Objective(s) In the present study, the differences in the relaxant effects of aqueous, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions of Rosa damascena on tracheal smooth muscle of guinea pigs were examined. Materials and Methods The relaxant effects of three cumulative concentrations of each fraction (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 g%) in comparison with saline and three cumulative concentrations of theophylline ...

Menthol is used as a constituent of food and drink, tobacco and cosmetics nowadays. This cold receptor agonist has been used as a nasal inhalation solution in the daily life. The effect of menthol on nasal mucosa in vivo is well known; however, the effect of the drug on tracheal smooth muscle has been rarely explored. Therefore, during administration of the drug for nasal symptoms, it might als...

Endothelins (ETs) can modulate the airway smooth muscle tone. Using simultaneous measurements of cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and tension as well as the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we examined ET systems in the porcine trachea. In the functional study, the application of ET-1, ET-3 or sarafotoxin S6c (S6c) caused increases in [Ca2+]i and tension, in a con...

Recent studies have implicated a role for tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) in the development of the asthmatic reaction. In this study, we examined the influence of TNFalpha on isotonic contraction of tracheal smooth muscle of the guinea-pig in vitro in response to methacholine. Tracheal rings were incubated with recombinant human (rh)TNFalpha (3x10(-11) M) for 30 min, and concentration-...