The detrusor smooth muscle is the main muscle component of the urinary bladder wall. Its
ability to contract over a large length interval and to relax determines the bladder function …

Local intracellular Ca2+ transients, termed Ca2+ sparks, are caused by the coordinated
opening of a cluster of ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ release channels in the sarcoplasmic …

How is the heartbeat generated? What controls the strength of contraction of heart muscle?
What are the links between cardiac structure and function? How does our understanding of …

The transient receptor potential (TRP) vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) member of the TRP superfamily
has recently been implicated in numerous physiological processes. In this study, we …

The lower urinary tract constitutes a functional unit controlled by a complex interplay
between the central and peripheral nervous systems and local regulatory factors. In the …

BK large conductance voltage-and calcium-activated potassium channels respond to
elevations in intracellular calcium and membrane potential depolarization, braking …

Large-conductance potassium (BK) channels in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs)
sense both changes in membrane potential and in intracellular Ca2+ concentration. BK …

The large conductance calcium-and voltage-activated K+ channel (KCa1. 1, BK, MaxiK) is
ubiquitously expressed in the body, and holds the ability to integrate changes in intracellular …

Abstract Large-conductance, Ca 2+-activated K+(BK Ca) channels in smooth muscle cells
are unique because they integrate changes in both intracellular Ca 2+ and membrane …

Smooth muscle (SM) is essential to all aspects of human physiology and, therefore, key to
the maintenance of life. Ion channels expressed within SM cells regulate the membrane …