Search results for "Contraction"
showing 10 items of 1092 documents
In vitro tracheal hyperresponsiveness to muscarinic receptor stimulation by carbachol in a rat model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis
2006
Summary 1 Bleomycin-induced lung injury is widely used as an experimental model to investigate the pathophysiology of pulmonary fibrosis but the alterations in the pharmacological responsiveness of airways isolated from bleomycin-exposed animals has been scarcely investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the in vitro tracheal responses to muscarinic receptor stimulation with carbachol in a rat bleomycin model. 2 Concentration–response curves to carbachol (10 nm to 0.1 mm) were obtained in tracheal rings isolated from Sprague–Dawley rats 14 days after endotracheal bleomycin or saline. The intracellular calcium signal in response to carbachol (10 μm) was measured by epifluorescence m…
Effects of papaverine on human isolated bladder muscle
1990
Papaverine is a non-specific smooth muscle relaxant and is thought to act at a site beyond the receptor sites on the cell membrane. In this study the relaxing properties of papaverine were tested in isolated muscle strips from the human bladder dome. In carbachol-induced contractions papaverine, even in high concentrations of 10(-4) mol/l had virtually no effects on peak tension generation, whereas the fading was accelerated and the steady state tension at 30 min. was reduced by about 54%. In contrast, high potassium-induced contractions were relaxed by papaverine in a concentration-dependent way; a concentration of papaverine of 10(-4) mol/l produced full relaxation. These findings might p…
Tetrodotoxin-dependent effects of menthol on mouse gastric motor function.
2013
Menthol, the main active constituent of peppermint oil, exerts gut spasmolytic effects, although its mechanism of action remains unclear. We investigated the effects of menthol on gastric emptying and spontaneous- or evoked- mechanical activity of whole murine stomach. Gastric emptying was calculated after i.p. administration of menthol (50mg/Kg). Responses induced by menthol on gastric intraluminal pressure and evoked-cholinergic contractions were analyzed in vitro. Menthol decreased the gastric emptying rate. In vitro, menthol (0.3-30 mM) produced a concentration-dependent relaxation of whole stomach, that was significantly reduced by tetrodotoxin or ω-conotoxin GVIA. The gastric relaxant…
Long-term beneficial effects of PTCA on segmental early relaxation in disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery.
1988
The relationship between regional left ventricular (LV) motion and global pressure relaxation of the left ventricle remains unclear. To clarify the recent concept of segmental early relaxation in coro nary artery disease, the authors in vestigated two groups of patients. In group I, all 12 patients (mean age 47±7 years) exhibited evidence of a normal heart after an extensive in vestigation. In group II, 25 patients (55±7 years) presented an isolated stenosis of the left anterior descend ing coronary artery, and they under went a hemodynamic investigation before and after (six to nine months) a durable successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). After all conventional …
Differentiation of calcium antagonists with respect to their effects in normal and skinned taenia caeci preparations
1987
Abstract In taenia preparations, depolarized by a K+-rich medium, Ca2+ caused contraction and cinnarizine (0.4–100 μM), trifluoperazine (2–100 μM) and verapamil (0.02–10 μM) caused concentration-dependent antagonism of Ca2+, displacing the Ca2+ log concentration-effect curve to the right and depressing the maximal response. Equieffective (IC75) antispasmogenic concentrations were selected. The antispasmogenic effects of verapamil were readily offset by removing the drug from the bathing fluid but those of the other drugs were not. The calcium antagonists (antispasmogenic IC75) were then tested for spasmolytic activity in tissues generating tension in response to the EC80 of Ca2+. Verapamil …
Modulation by nitric oxide of spontaneous mechanical activity in rat proximal colon.
1999
Summary 1 In order to examine the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the tonic neural inhibition in rat proximal colon, the effects of Nω-nitro- l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) were studied on the spontaneous contractions of circular muscle (monitored as intraluminal pressure changes) and of longitudinal muscle (detected as isometric tension changes). 2 L-NAME (3 × 10−−6–3 × 10−−4 m) caused a concentration-dependent increase in the amplitude of circular contractions, without affecting those of longitudinal muscle. This effect was prevented by l-arginine (1–5 × 10−−3 m), but not d-arginine. 3 In the presence of tetrodotoxin (10−−6 m), which per se induced increase of the pressure waves, L-NAME (1…
Angiotensin II contractile effects in mouse colon: role for pre- and post-junctional AT1A receptors
2013
Aim This study investigates whether a local renin–angiotensin system (RAS) exists in mouse colon and whether angiotensin II (Ang II) may play a role in the regulation of the contractile activity. Methods Isometric recordings were performed in vitro on the longitudinal muscle of mouse proximal and distal colon. Transcripts encoding for RAS components were investigated by RT-PCR. Results Ang II caused, in both preparations, a concentration-dependent contractile effect, antagonized by losartan, AT1 receptor antagonist, but not by PD123319, AT2 receptor antagonist. The combination of losartan plus PD123319 caused no change on the Ang II-induced contraction than losartan alone. Tetrodotoxin, neu…
Effect of verapamil and diltiazem on isolated gastro-oesophageal sphincter of the rat
1985
Abstract The effect of verapamil and diltiazem on the contraction induced by agonists on the rat lower oesophageal sphincter in-vitro has been studied. Both calcium entry blockers inhibited the contractile response to acetylcholine, carbachol and KCl. The potency of the inhibitory action was diltiazem > verapamil. The results give substance to the use of calcium entry blockers in the treatment of oesophageal spasm.
Effects of Ca2+ channel antagonists in guinea-pig normal and skinned gall bladder.
1993
CaCl2 (0.01-50 mM, in K(+)-depolarized tissues), KCl (0.1-100 mM) and acetylcholine (1 nM-10 mM) produced concentration-dependent contractions of guinea-pig isolated gall bladder. Nifedipine (1-100 microM), verapamil (1-100 microM), diltiazem (1-100 microM), cinnarizine (1-100 microM), and flunarizine (1-100 microM) each produced a concentration-related inhibition of the log concentration-effect curve for CaCl2. The rank order of potencies of these antagonists, measured as the IC50 against Ca2+ (50 mM)-induced contraction of depolarized gall bladder, was diltiazem (0.25 microM)or = verapamil (0.8 microM) approximately nifedipine (1.2 microM)cinnarizine (25 microM) approximately flunarizine …
Influence of nitric oxide on neurogenic contraction and relaxation of the human gastroepiploic artery.
2003
Abstract Background The objective of this study was to characterize the neurogenic contraction and relaxation of the human gastroepiploic artery and to determine whether the responses are mediated by nitric oxide (NO) from neural or endothelial origin. Methods Rings of human gastroepiploic artery were obtained from 18 patients (12 men, 6 women) undergoing gastrectomy. The rings were suspended in organ baths for isometric recording of tension. We studied the contractile and relaxant responses to electrical field stimulation. Results In arteries under resting conditions, electrical field stimulation (2 to 8 Hz) caused frequency-dependent contractions that were of greater magnitude in arteries…