Smooth Muscle Spontaneous Activity

This book presents the commonality and heterogeneity of the mechanisms underlying smooth muscle spontaneous activity in various smooth muscle organs and in addition discusses their malfunctions in disease and their potential as novel therapeutic targets. To facilitate understanding, the volume is divided into five parts and covers 16 organs: airways, gastrointestinal tract (phasic muscle, tonic muscle), renal pelvis, ureter, urinary bladder, urethra, corporal tissue, prostate, uterus, oviducts, seminal vesicle, artery, vein, microvasculature, and lymphatic vessels. This structure will help readers to comprehend the most up-to-date information on the similarities and differences in the contractile mechanisms driving various smooth muscles as well as their potential manipulations in particular visceral organ pathologies. The vast advancements in gene, electrical recording, and imaging technologies in this field are also discussed, with review of past achievements and consideration of likely future developments. This book will be of worldwide interest to clinicians, students, and researchers alike.

This book presents the commonality and heterogeneity of the mechanisms underlying smooth muscle spontaneous activity in various smooth muscle organs and in addition discusses their malfunctions in disease and their potential as novel therapeutic targets. To facilitate understanding, the volume is divided into five parts and covers 16 organs: airways, phasic muscle, tonic muscle, renal pelvis, ureter, urinary bladder, urethra, corporal tissue, prostate, uterus, oviducts, seminal vesicle, artery, vein, microvasculature, and lymphatic vessels. This structure will help readers to comprehend the most up-to-date information on the similarities and differences in the contractile mechanisms driving various smooth muscles as well as their potential manipulations in particular visceral organ pathologies. The vast advancements in gene, electrical recording, and imaging technologies in this field are also discussed, with review of past achievements and consideration of likely future developments. This book will be of worldwide interest to clinicians, students, and researchers alike.

Editions previous to this one had R.D. Keynes and David J. Aidley as primary and secondary authors.

A version of the OpenStax text

Three distinct types of contractions perform colonic motility functions. Rhythmic phasic contractions (RPCs) cause slow net distal propulsion with extensive mixing/turning over. Infrequently occurring giant migrating contractions (GMCs) produce mass movements. Tonic contractions aid RPCs in their motor function. The spatiotemporal patterns of these contractions differ markedly. The amplitude and distance of propagation of a GMC are several-fold larger than those of an RPC. The enteric neurons and smooth muscle cells are the core regulators of all three types of contractions. The regulation of contractions by these mechanisms is modifiable by extrinsic factors: CNS, autonomic neurons, hormones, inflammatory mediators, and stress mediators. Only the GMCs produce descending inhibition, which accommodates the large bolus being propelled without increasing muscle tone. The strong compression of the colon wall generates afferent signals that are below nociceptive threshold in healthy subjects. However, these signals become nociceptive; if the amplitudes of GMCs increase, afferent nerves become hypersensitive, or descending inhibition is impaired. The GMCs also provide the force for rapid propulsion of feces and descending inhibition to relax the internal anal sphincter during defecation. The dysregulation of GMCs is a major factor in colonic motility disorders: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and diverticular disease (DD). Frequent mass movements by GMCs cause diarrhea in diarrhea predominant IBS, IBD, and DD, while a decrease in the frequency of GMCs causes constipation. The GMCs generate the afferent signals for intermittent short-lived episodes of abdominal cramping in these disorders. Epigenetic dysregulation due to adverse events in early life is one of the major factors in generating the symptoms of IBS in adulthood.

This book is a compendium of the latest electrophysiological research on smooth muscles from an international collection of authors. It includes recent discoveries in calcium stores and their relationship to contraction and to electrical changes in the membrane. A major section of the book concentrates on calcium release mechanisms in the cell, their control, and the consequences of calcium release in the cell for membrane events. Smooth Muscle Excitation also covers the effects of chemicals released from adjacent cells. Key Features * State-of-the-art volume that represents a synopsis of all work currently being undertaken in this area throughout the world * Content covers both basic and clinical research * Provides a range of drug development studies * Presents contributions from many internationally recognized smooth muscle physiologists