We examined gap junction coupling of descending vasa recta (DVR). DVR endothelial cells or pericytes were depolarized to record the associated capacitance transients. Virtually all endothelia and some pericytes exhibited prolonged transients lasting 10-30 ms. Carbenoxolone (100 microM) and 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid (18betaGRA; 100 microM) markedly shortened the endothelial transients. Carbenox...

The flavor of dry cured ham explains the high appreciation of this product and it determines consumer acceptance. Volatile compounds provide valuable information about the odor and sensory quality of dry cured hams. Since amino acids are the origin of some volatile compounds of dry cured ham, the volatile and amino acid compositions of forty-one dry cured hams from Spain and France were determi...

A theoretical analysis has been undertaken of the synaptic or "junction" potentials of syncytial smooth muscle in order to examine the most likely mode of action of a chemical, 1heptanol, that has profound effects on neurot"ission in this tissue. The smooth muscle syncytium of the mammalian vas deferens has been modelled as a bidomain electrical grid which allows simulation of the spontaneous a...

We have tested the hypothesis that increased gap junctional communication contributes to the augmented endothelium-dependent vasodilation in pregnancy. Contractile force and connexin43 expression were measured in aortic rings from nonpregnant and pregnant rats. Norepinephrine-constricted aortas from pregnant rats were more sensitive to acetylcholine, but not to sodium nitroprusside, compared wi...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare differential effects of a segment of slow conduction during ventricular tachycardia (VT) due to depression of the action potential and electrical uncoupling. METHODS AND RESULTS In 33 Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts, a ring of anisotropic left ventricular subepicardium was created by a cryoprocedure. Reentrant VT was produced by increment...

Objective: Our aim was to establish the existence of intercellular communication through gap junctions (ICGJ) in synovial tissues and to show that gap junction communications in synovial tissue plays a role in the pathogenesis of synovitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Material and methods: Synovial tissues were obtained from patients with RA and osteoarthritis (OA) at the time of...