Search results for "Smooth"
showing 10 items of 710 documents
Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Improve Left Ventricular Function, Induce Angiogenesis, and Reduce Infarct Size in Rats with Acute Myocardial Infarction
2008
Abstract Human dental pulp contains precursor cells termed dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) that show self-renewal and multilineage differentiation and also secrete multiple proangiogenic and antiapoptotic factors. To examine whether these cells could have therapeutic potential in the repair of myocardial infarction (MI), DPSC were infected with a retrovirus encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and expanded ex vivo. Seven days after induction of myocardial infarction by coronary artery ligation, 1.5 × 106 GFP-DPSC were injected intramyocardially in nude rats. At 4 weeks, cell-treated animals showed an improvement in cardiac function, observed by percentage changes in anterior wall thic…
Reduction of Interstitial Cells of Cajal (ICC) Associated With Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase (n-NOS) in Patients With Achalasia
2007
The etiology of achalasia is still unknown. The current theories of chronic inflammation leading to autoimmune response with destruction and loss of the inhibitory myenteric ganglion cells enlighten its pathogenesis in a limited way only. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) have been shown to be involved in nitrergic neurotransmission of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).To investigate the significance of ICC and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (n-NOS) in esophageal wall tissue of patients undergoing surgery for achalasia.In 53 patients with a median age of 45 (6-78) yr undergoing surgery for achalasia, the immunoreactivity of ICC (CD117/c-kit) and n-NOS was assessed. In 42 patients, biopsi…
Mutations in myosin heavy chain 11 cause a syndrome associating thoracic aortic aneurysm/aortic dissection and patent ductus arteriosus
2006
We have recently described two kindreds presenting thoracic aortic aneurysm and/or aortic dissection ( TAAD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)(1,2) and mapped the disease locus to 16p12.2-p13.13 (ref. 3). We now demonstrate that the disease is caused by mutations in the MYH11 gene affecting the C-terminal coiled-coil region of the smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, a specific contractile protein of smooth muscle cells (SMC). All individuals bearing the heterozygous mutations, even if asymptomatic, showed marked aortic stiffness. Examination of pathological aortas showed large areas of medial degeneration with very low SMC content. Abnormal immunological recognition of SM-MHC and the colocal…
Vasopressin receptors involved in adrenergic neurotransmission in the circular muscle of the human vas deferens
1998
We studied the effects of vasopressin on the adrenergic responses of in vitro preparations of circular muscle from the vas deferens obtained from 28 men undergoing elective vasectomy. Vasopressin (3 x 10(-9)-3 x 10(-8) M) enhanced the phasic contractions elicited by electrical field stimulation and noradrenaline. This potentiation was blocked by the vasopressin V1 receptor antagonist d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)vasopressin (10(-6) M) but not by the vasopressin V2 receptor antagonist [d(CH2)5, D-Ile2,Ile4,Arg8]vasopressin (10(-6) M). The Ca2+ antagonist nifedipine (10(-6) M) did not affect the potentiation of electrical field stimulation induced by vasopressin and noradrenaline but reduced KCl-induced con…
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Activations of Cortical Eye Fields during Saccades, Smooth Pursuit, and Optokinetic Nystagmus
2009
Saccades, smooth pursuit, and optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) are three basic eye movements in our ocular motor repertoire that enable us to explore the visual field. These eye movements are cortically controlled in different cortical eye fields, including the frontal eye fields (FEF) and parietal eye fields (PEF), as well as the motion-sensitive visual area MT+/V5. It is not known if this cortical control is organized in parallel cortico-cortical networks or in adjacent subregions of one system. Nor do we know where the specific eye fields are exactly located. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate these open questions about the FEF, PEF, and MT+/V5. Activations o…
Bowel wall thickening: inquire or not inquire? Our guidelines
2018
Introduction Bowel wall thickening is not an uncommon finding among patient undergoing abdomen CT scan. It may be caused by neoplastic, inflammatory, infectious or ischaemic conditions but also be a normal variant. Although specific radiologic patterns may direct to a precise diagnosis, occasionally misidentification may occur. Thus, in the absence of guidelines, further and not always needed diagnostic procedures (colonoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy or capsule endoscopy) are performed. Patients and methods We conducted a retrospective study on data collected from May 2016 to June 2017. We selected 40 adult patients, admitted in Emergency Department with "abdominal pain" and undergone a…
Effects of sildenafil on human penile blood vessels.
2000
Abstract Objectives. To investigate the effects of sildenafil on human penile blood vessels and evaluate the interaction of sildenafil with neurogenic-mediated responses. Sildenafil is currently used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Methods. Penile dorsal arteries and deep dorsal veins were obtained from 14 multiorgan donors. Vascular rings were suspended in organ bath chambers, and the isometric tension was recorded. We then studied the effects of sildenafil on precontracted vessels and the neurogenic (noradrenergic and nitrergic) responses. Results. Sildenafil (10 −9 to 3 × 10 −6 M) caused concentration-dependent relaxation and amplified the relaxation induced by sodium nitroprus…
Endothelium-dependent component in the contractile responses of human omental arteries to adrenergic stimulation
1993
Abstract The present study was designed to investigate the influence of endothelium-derived nitric oxide on the contractile responses of isolated human omental arteries to electrical field stimulation and noradrenaline. We measured isometric tension in artery rings obtained from portions of human omentum during the course of abdominal operations (32 patients). Electrical field stimulation induced frequency-dependent contractions which were abolished by tetrodotoxin (10−6 M) and prazosin (10−6 M), thus indicating that this effect was due to noradrenaline released from adrenergic nerves acting on α1-adrenoceptors. The increases in tension induced by electrical field stimulation were of greate…
Evaluation of esophagogastric junction relaxation by 4-second Integrated Relaxation Pressure in achalasia using High Resolution Manometry with water-…
2014
Background Relaxation of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) is now evaluated calculating 4-second integrated relaxation pressure (4-s IRP) by high resolution manometry (HREPT). Solid-state catheters have been used to define abnormal values. Our aim was to evaluate 4-s IRP in esophageal achalasia using HREPT with perfused catheters. Methods From June 2009 to June 2013, 936 HREPT studies have been performed in our unit. Of these, 194 patients having treated achalasia were excluded. Control group was constituted by 695 patients without achalasia, and 47 patients with untreated achalasia constituted the study group. HREPT was performed with water-perfused catheters. To establish the cut-off val…
Role of endothelium and calcium channels in endothelin-induced contraction of human cerebral arteries
1990
Endothelin constricted human isolated cerebral arteries in a concentration-dependent manner. The maximal tension developed, as well as EC50 values were similar in arteries with and without endothelium. Removal of extracellular calcium or addition of the calcium antagonist nicardipine (10(-6)M), attenuated but did not abolish responses to endothelin. These experiments show that the endothelin-induced contraction in human cerebral arteries is not linked to the presence of intact endothelial cells. The data also show that the contractile effects of endothelin cannot be explained solely by an action on voltage-dependent calcium channels.