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Published on: August 18, 2014
[Mechanisms of the contractile activity control in smooth muscle cells]
Abstract:
A comparative analysis of the basal level of the cytoplasmic calcium concentration in the intact intestinal isolated smooth muscle cells (SMC) of different phenotypes and the dynamic changes of its concentration in the SMC during the stimulation of their contraction, was performed. In this study, the SMC were isolated from the proximal colon, using collagenase dissociation. Confocal and fluorescence microscopy with the fluorescent probes Fura-2AM, to study the concentration of Ca2+ and MitoTracker Red, to study the activity of mitochondria, were used. It was found that the different phenotypes of visceral SMC, despite some differences in the basal levels of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration, were characterized by the similar calcium response during the contraction stimulation, which indicates the identity of the mechanisms triggering contractile activity in different types of SMC.
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