Vascular tone of resistance arteries and arterioles determines peripheral vascular
resistance, contributing to the regulation of blood pressure and blood flow to, and within the …

1 The regulation of intracellular [Ca2+] in the smooth muscle cells in the wall of small
pressurized cerebral arteries (100‐200 μm) of rat was studied using simultaneous digital …

Blood pressure and tissue perfusion are controlled in part by the level of intrinsic (myogenic)
vascular tone. However, many of the molecular determinants of this response are unknown …

Vascular smooth muscle (VSM) plays an important role in the regulation of vascular function.
Identifying the mechanisms of VSM contraction has been a major research goal in order to …

Drugs classified as calcium antagonists or calcium-channel blockers were introduced into
clinical medicine in the 1960s and are now among the most frequently prescribed drugs for …

Vasodilators are used clinically for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. The
effects of some vasodilators seem to be mediated by membrane hyperpolarization. The …

KCl has long been used as a convenient stimulus to bypass G protein-coupled receptors
(GPCR) and activate smooth muscle by a highly reproducible and relatively “simple” …

Blood pressure is regulated by a number of key molecules involving G-protein-coupled
receptors, ion channels and monomeric small G-proteins. The relative contribution of these …

ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels are present in the surface and internal
membranes of cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle cells and provide a unique feedback …

CALCITONIN gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a 37-amino-acid peptide produced by
alternative processing of messenger RNA from the calcitonin gene1, 2. CGRP is one of the …