Our hearts beat around 100,000 times a day—and do so throughout our entire lives. They draw the energy for this from the ...

A study from Toho University reveals that ferulic acid can influence intestinal muscle contractions by affecting calcium channels. Credit: Shutterstock A naturally occurring compound in rice bran may ...

This paper explores the role of extracellular vesicles in providing extracellular matrix signals for migration of vascular smooth muscle cells. The evidence, based on cell culture experiments and ...

Airway hyperresponsiveness, caused by excessive contraction of airway smooth muscle, is a characteristic of asthma involving multiple proteins, including various isoforms of actin and myosin. While ...

The role of the lymphatic system is to remove extra fluid from tissues and to carry antigens to lymph nodes to generate an immune response when needed. The network of lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes ...

A research group led by Dr. Keisuke Obara, Dr. Kento Yoshioka, and Professor Yoshio Tanaka from the Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, has ...

The contractile responses of esophageal smooth muscle (SM) induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF) involve the activation of L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (L-type VDCCs), ...

The CEMIP (cell migration–inducing protein) exhibits extremely high expression levels in smooth muscle tissues. However, whether CEMIP modulates the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle ...

Ferulic acid suppresses ileal smooth muscle contraction by inhibiting calcium ion influx through voltage-dependent calcium channels. This action may help prevent or treat excessive intestinal motility ...

ABSTRACT: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the arterial walls play important roles in regulating vascular contraction and dilation. VSMCs actively remodel the arterial walls and dedifferentiate ...