Muscarinic excitation-contraction coupling mechanisms in tracheal and bronchial smooth muscles

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 1142-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J. Janssen ◽  
Jennifer Wattie ◽  
Hwa Lu-Chao ◽  
Tracy Tazzeo
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscles ◽  
Rho Kinase ◽  
Cyclopiazonic Acid ◽  
Organ Bath ◽  
Excitation Contraction Coupling ◽  
Contraction Coupling ◽  
Coupling Mechanisms ◽  
Sustained Responses

We investigated the mechanisms underlying muscarinic excitation-contraction coupling in canine airway smooth muscle using organ bath, fura 2 fluorimetric, and patch-clamp techniques. Cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) augmented the responses to submaximal muscarinic stimulation in both tracheal (TSM) and bronchial smooth muscles (BSM), consistent with disruption of the barrier function of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. During maximal stimulation, however, CPA evoked substantial relaxation in TSM but not BSM. CPA reversal of carbachol tone persisted in the presence of tetraethylammoium or high KCl, suggesting that hyperpolarization is not involved; CPA relaxations were absent in tissues preconstricted with KCl alone or by permeabilization with β-escin, ruling out a nonspecific effect on the contractile apparatus. Peak contractions were sensitive to inhibitors of tyrosine kinase (genistein) or Rho kinase (Y-27632). Sustained responses were dependent on Ca2+influx in TSM but not BSM; this influx was sensitive to Ni2+ but not La3+. In conclusion, there are several mechanisms underlying excitation-contraction coupling in airway smooth muscle, the relative importance of which varies depending on tissue and degree of stimulation.

Airway smooth muscle excitation-contraction coupling and airway hyperresponsiveness

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 725-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hirota ◽  
Peter B Helli ◽  
Adriana Catalli ◽  
Allyson Chew ◽  
Luke J Janssen
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Vascular Smooth Muscle ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Hyperresponsiveness ◽  
Rho Kinase ◽  
Shortness Of Breath ◽  
Excitation Contraction Coupling ◽  
Contraction Coupling ◽  
Hallmark Feature

The primary complaints from patients with asthma pertain to function of airway smooth muscle (ASM) function including shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing. Thus, it is imperative to better understand the mechanisms underlying excitation-contraction coupling in ASM. Here, we review the various signaling pathways underlying contraction in ASM, and then examine how these are altered in asthma and airway hyperresponsiveness (a hallmark feature of asthma). Throughout, we highlight how studies of vascular smooth muscle have helped or hindered progress in understanding ASM physiology and pathophysiology.Key words: airway smooth muscle, vascular smooth muscle, excitation-contraction coupling, calcium, Rho-kinase.

Coupling mechanisms in airway smooth muscle

1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (4) ◽  
pp. L119-L133 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Coburn ◽  
C. B. Baron
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Electromechanical Coupling ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Surface Membrane ◽  
Smooth Muscles ◽  
Membrane Receptors ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Coupling Mechanisms

This review documents available information about coupling mechanisms involved in airway smooth muscle force development and maintenance and relaxation of force. Basic concepts, obtained from experiments performed on many different mammalian cell types, are in place regarding coupling between surface membrane receptors and cell function; these concepts are considered as a framework for understanding coupling between receptors and contractile proteins in smooth muscles and in airway smooth muscles. We have divided various components of coupling mechanisms into those dependent on changes in the surface membrane potential (electromechanical coupling) and those independent of the surface membrane potential (pharmacomechanical coupling). We have, to some degree, emphasized modulation of coupling mechanisms by intrasurface membrane microprocessing or by second messengers. A challenge for the future is to obtain a better understanding of how coupling mechanisms are altered or modulated during different phases of contractions evoked by a single agonist and under conditions of multiple agonist exposure to airway smooth muscle cells.

Ionic mechanisms and Ca2+ regulation in airway smooth muscle contraction: do the data contradict dogma?

2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (6) ◽  
pp. L1161-L1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J. Janssen
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Contraction ◽  
Channel Blockers ◽  
Excitation Contraction Coupling ◽  
Contraction Coupling ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Heterogeneity ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Ionic Mechanisms

In general, excitation-contraction coupling in muscle is dependent on membrane depolarization and hyperpolarization to regulate the opening of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels and, thereby, influence intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). Thus Ca2+ channel blockers and K+ channel openers are important tools in the arsenals against hypertension, stroke, and myocardial infarction, etc. Airway smooth muscle (ASM) also exhibits robust Ca2+, K+, and Cl− currents, and there are elaborate signaling pathways that regulate them. It is easy, then, to presume that these also play a central role in contraction/relaxation of ASM. However, several lines of evidence speak to the contrary. Also, too many researchers in the ASM field view the sarcoplasmic reticulum as being centrally located and displacing its contents uniformly throughout the cell, and they have focused almost exclusively on the initial single [Ca2+] spike evoked by excitatory agonists. Several recent studies have revealed complex spatial and temporal heterogeneity in [Ca2+]i, the significance of which is only just beginning to be appreciated. In this review, we will compare what is known about ion channels in ASM with what is believed to be their roles in ASM physiology. Also, we will examine some novel ionic mechanisms in the context of Ca2+ handling and excitation-contraction coupling in ASM.

Airway smooth muscle electrophysiology in a state of flux?

2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (8) ◽  
pp. L730-L732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J. Janssen
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Chloride Currents ◽  
Excitation Contraction Coupling ◽  
Contraction Coupling ◽  
New Directions

Activation of chloride currents and release of internally sequestered Ca2+ in airway smooth muscle have long been associated with excitation and contraction. Surprisingly, however, two recent publications (Deshpande DA, Wang WC, McIlmoyle EL, Robinett KS, Schillinger RM, An SS, Sham JS, Liggett SB. Nat Med 16: 1299–1304, 2010; Gallos G, Yim P, Chang S, Zhang Y, Xu D, Cook JM, Gerthoffer WT, Emala CW Sr. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 302: L248–L256, 2012) have linked both events to relaxation. This begs a closer look at our understanding of airway smooth muscle electrophysiology and its contribution to excitation-contraction coupling. This Editorial Focus highlights those two aforementioned studies and several other equally paradoxical findings and proposes some possible reinterpretations of the data and/or new directions of research in which the answers might be found.

scholarly journals On the Mechanisms Whereby Temperature Affects Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Smooth Muscle

2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodor V. Burdyga ◽  
Susan Wray
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Guinea Pig ◽  
Action Potential ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Smooth Muscles ◽  
Ionic Currents ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Isolated Cells ◽  
Excitation Contraction Coupling ◽  
Contraction Coupling

Moderate cooling of smooth muscle can modulate force production and may contribute to pathophysiological conditions, but the mechanisms underlying its effects are poorly understood. Interestingly, cooling increases force in rat ureter, but decreases it in guinea pigs. Therefore, this study used ureteric smooth muscle as a model system to elucidate the mechanisms of the effects of cooling on excitation-contraction coupling. Simultaneous recordings of force, intracellular [Ca2+], and electrical activity were made in intact ureter and ionic currents measured in isolated cells. The increase in force amplitude in rat ureter with cooling was found to be due to a significant increase in the duration of the Ca2+ transient. This in turn was due to a marked prolongation of the action potential. In guinea pigs, both these parameters were much less affected by cooling. Examination of membrane currents revealed that differences in ion channel contribution to the action potential underlie these differences. In particular, cooling potentiated Ca2+-activated Cl− currents, which are present in rat but not guinea pig ureteric smooth muscle, and prolonged the plateau of the action potential and Ca2+ entry. The force-Ca2+ relationship revealed that the increased duration of the Ca2+ transient was sufficient in the rat, but not in the guinea pig, to overcome kinetic lags produced in both species by cooling and potentiate force. Ca2+ entry and release processes were largely temperature-insensitive, but the rate of relaxation was very temperature-sensitive. Effects of cooling on myosin light chain phosphatase, confirmed in experiments using calyculin A, appear to be the predominant mechanisms affecting relaxation. Thus, smooth muscle is diverse in its response to temperature, even when experimental variables, such as the mode of stimulation, are removed. Although the biochemical and mechanical events accompanying contraction are likely to be affected in similar ways by temperature, differences in electrical events lead to subsequent differences in these processes between smooth muscles.

scholarly journals Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Airway Smooth Muscle

2006 ◽  
Vol 281 (40) ◽  
pp. 30143-30151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanglei Du ◽  
Timothy J. McMahon ◽  
Zhu-Shan Zhang ◽  
Jonathan A. Stiber ◽  
Gerhard Meissner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Airway Smooth Muscle ◽  
Excitation Contraction Coupling ◽  
Contraction Coupling
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