BACKGROUND Class II phosphoinositide 3-kinase α-isoform (PI3K-C2α) is involved in regulating KCl-induced vascular smooth muscle contraction. The current study was to investigate the effects of sevoflurane (SEVO) and isoflurane (ISO) on KCl-elicited PI3KC2α mediated vasoconstriction in rat aortic smooth muscle. METHODS Isometric force, in the absence or presence of SEVO or ISO (1 ~ 3 minimum a...

Introduction: Dill (Anethum graveolens), a herb from from Umbelliferae, is used traditionally to treat convulsion and increasing milk production. Its antimicrobial, antihyperlipidaemic, anti-hypercholesteroaemic effects and gastric acid secretion reducing effect have been reported. The spasmolytic effect of dill fruit on rat uterus has also been shown recently. The aim of present study was to i...

Achillea millefolium L. is cultivated in Iran and widely used in traditional medicine for gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of A. millefolium on the contraction and relaxation of isolated ileum in rat. In this experimental study, aerial parts of A. millefolium were extracted by maceration in ethanol 70% for 72 h. Terminal por...

The present study was primarily designed to explore various methodological aspects related to organ bath experiments evaluating human detrusor relaxation by the β-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline. Data are based upon a series of 30 consecutive patients, and this cohort was also used to explore possible effects of gender and age. KCl-induced contraction was related to strip length but not weigh...

Several species of Prangos are traditionally used as emollient, carminative, tonic, anti-flatulent, anthelmintic and anti-thrombotic agents. Osthole, a coumarin isolated from Prangos, are believed to be responsible for some of its effects. In this research, relaxant effects of Prangos ferulacea extract and osthole on rat uterus contraction induced by KCl, acetylcholine (ACh), oxytocin and elect...

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases regulate smooth muscle cell contraction. Hypoxia contracts pulmonary arteries by mechanisms that are incompletely understood. We hypothesized that hypoxic contraction of pulmonary arteries involves activation of the MAP kinases. To test this hypothesis, we studied the effects of SB-202190, a p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, PD-98059 and UO-126, two structurally ...

Airway hyperresponsiveness is a major characteristic of asthma and is generally ascribed to excessive airway narrowing associated with the contraction of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs). ASMC contraction is initiated by a rise in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)), observed as oscillatory Ca(2+) waves that can be induced by either agonist or high extracellular K(+) (KCl). In t...

BACKGROUND Punica granatum Linn. (PG) is native to the Mediterranean region. Its flower exhibited antioxidant activity. The present study attempt to investigate the effect of these extract on uterine contraction and its possible mechanism(s). METHODS Thirty five female Wistar rats (200-300 g) at estrous phases of cycle was examined in this study; pieces of virgin adult rat uterus (1.5 cm) wer...

The effects of essential oil of Croton nepetaefolius (EOCN) on guinea-pig-isolated ileum were studied. We previously demonstrated that EOCN induced reversible relaxation of ileal tone artificially increased by high [K(+)] nutrient solution. This study aimed to elucidate whether these effects were caused by indirect, neural, or primarily by myogenic effect. EOCN (40 microg/mL) induced a relaxati...

The involvement of Rho-associated kinase (ROK) in activation of rabbit urethral smooth muscle contraction was investigated by examining the effects of two structurally distinct inhibitors of ROK, Y27632 and H1152, on the contractile response to electric field stimulation, membrane depolarization with KCl, and α1-adrenoceptor stimulation with phenylephrine. Both compounds inhibited contractions ...