Normal urinary bladder function requires contraction and relaxation of the detrusor smooth muscle (DSM). The DSM undergoes compensatory hypertrophy in response to partial bladder outlet obstruction ...

A new molecular pathway has been identified that is critical for maintaining the smooth muscle tone that allows the passage of materials through the digestive system. Researchers at UMass Medical ...

Activation of muscarinic receptors on the detrusor smooth muscle is followed by contraction, which involves both myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and Rho kinase (ROCK). The aim of this study was to ...

DALLAS – April 5, 2004 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas are the first to use genetically engineered mice containing a fluorescent molecule to examine in real time the chemical ...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 105, No. 47 (Nov. 25, 2008), pp. 18614-18618 (5 pages) ...

A new study by researchers at Yale and Johns Hopkins University has discovered how asthmatic bronchial spasms — muscle contractions in the airway that cause difficulty breathing in asthma patients— ...

Mucous cell hyperplasia and airway smooth muscle (ASM) hyperresponsiveness are hallmark features of inflammatory airway diseases, including asthma. Here, we show that the recently identified ...

Muscle contraction is the tightening, shortening, or lengthening of muscles when you do some activity. It can happen when you hold or pick up something, or when you stretch or exercise with weights.

The mechanism of skeletal muscle contraction is a process that relies on calcium signaling. However, the physiological role of calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) through the ryanodine receptor ...

When labor begins, the uterus must coordinate rhythmic, well-timed contractions to deliver the baby safely. While hormones ...