Biomaterial Database

Cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating vascular tone. Part 1: basic mechanisms controlling cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and the Ca2+-dependent regulation of vascular tone. 2007

Takashi Akata

Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.

General anesthetics cause hemodynamic instability and alter blood flow to various organs. There is mounting evidence that most general anesthetics, at clinical concentrations, influence a wide variety of cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating the contractile state of vascular smooth muscle cells (i.e., vascular tone). In addition, in current anesthetic practice, various types of vasoactive agents are often used to control vascular reactivity and to sustain tissue blood flow in high-risk surgical patients with impaired vital organ function and/or hemodynamic instability. Understanding the physiological mechanisms involved in the regulation of vascular tone thus would be beneficial for anesthesiologists. This review, in two parts, provides an overview of current knowledge about the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating vascular tone-i.e., targets for general anesthetics, as well as for vasoactive drugs that are used in intraoperative circulatory management. This first part of the two-part review focuses on basic mechanisms regulating cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and the Ca2+-dependent regulation of vascular tone.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009119	Muscle Contraction	A process leading to shortening and/or development of tension in muscle tissue. Muscle contraction occurs by a sliding filament mechanism whereby actin filaments slide inward among the myosin filaments.	Inotropism,Muscular Contraction,Contraction, Muscle,Contraction, Muscular,Contractions, Muscle,Contractions, Muscular,Inotropisms,Muscle Contractions,Muscular Contractions
D009129	Muscle Tonus	The state of activity or tension of a muscle beyond that related to its physical properties, that is, its active resistance to stretch. In skeletal muscle, tonus is dependent upon efferent innervation. (Stedman, 25th ed)	Muscle Tension,Muscle Tightness,Muscular Tension,Tension, Muscle,Tension, Muscular,Tightness, Muscle,Tonus, Muscle
D009131	Muscle, Smooth, Vascular	The nonstriated involuntary muscle tissue of blood vessels.	Vascular Smooth Muscle,Muscle, Vascular Smooth,Muscles, Vascular Smooth,Smooth Muscle, Vascular,Smooth Muscles, Vascular,Vascular Smooth Muscles
D002118	Calcium	A basic element found in nearly all tissues. It is a member of the alkaline earth family of metals with the atomic symbol Ca, atomic number 20, and atomic weight 40. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and combines with phosphorus to form calcium phosphate in the bones and teeth. It is essential for the normal functioning of nerves and muscles and plays a role in blood coagulation (as factor IV) and in many enzymatic processes.	Coagulation Factor IV,Factor IV,Blood Coagulation Factor IV,Calcium-40,Calcium 40,Factor IV, Coagulation
D003600	Cytosol	Intracellular fluid from the cytoplasm after removal of ORGANELLES and other insoluble cytoplasmic components.	Cytosols
D006706	Homeostasis	The processes whereby the internal environment of an organism tends to remain balanced and stable.	Autoregulation
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000252	Calcium-Transporting ATPases	Cation-transporting proteins that utilize the energy of ATP hydrolysis for the transport of CALCIUM. They differ from CALCIUM CHANNELS which allow calcium to pass through a membrane without the use of energy.	ATPase, Calcium,Adenosinetriphosphatase, Calcium,Ca(2+)-Transporting ATPase,Calcium ATPase,Calcium Adenosinetriphosphatase,Adenosine Triphosphatase, Calcium,Ca2+ ATPase,Calcium-ATPase,ATPase, Ca2+,ATPases, Calcium-Transporting,Calcium Adenosine Triphosphatase,Calcium Transporting ATPases,Triphosphatase, Calcium Adenosine
D000768	Anesthesia, General	Procedure in which patients are induced into an unconscious state through use of various medications so that they do not feel pain during surgery.	Anesthesias, General,General Anesthesia,General Anesthesias
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia