Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility -

Human gastric motility is regulated by both slow wave activity and membrane excitability. Regulation of gastric function involves adapting motility through repetitive stretches during feeding and digestion. Alongside gastric motility, gastric vascular motility must also be accurately regulated. The physiological function of stretch-activated K+ channels has been demonstrated in the relaxation mechanisms of the uterus and bladder. For these reasons, this study was designed to investigate whether stretch-activated K+ channels are involved in the functional regulation of human gastric muscle and vessels. We examined human gastric body tissues and gastroepiploic arteries from patients who underwent gastrectomy using a conventional contractile measurement system and Western immunoblot. High concentrations of K+ (50 mM) induced tonic contraction (4 g) in human gastric circular muscle from the body. Acetylcholine (ACh, 10 µM) also induced an initial peak (3 g), tonic (1.1 g), and phasic contractions (1.5 g; 2.5 cycles/min). L-methionine, known to block TWIK (two-pore domain weak inward rectifying K2P channel)-related K+ channels (TREK-1), produced sustained contraction (2 g) in gastric smooth muscle in the presence of a cocktail of K+ channel blockers. Additionally, channel inhibitors such as extracellular acidosis (MES ([pH]o = 6.4)), quinidine, bupivacaine, and lidocaine enhanced spontaneous contractions by 224%, 183%, 138%, and 127% of control, respectively, in the presence of L-methionine. Concurrently, we analyzed the physiological role of TREK-1 and TASK-2 in the human gastroepiploic artery. The ring of the human gastroepiploic artery produced tonic contraction (2.8 g) under high K+ (50 mM). Following stimulation with high K+, the artery exhibited spontaneous vasoconstriction known as vasomotion (2.7 g; 0.13 cycles/min), which was completely inhibited by nifedipine, a voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+ channel (VDCCL) blocker. BayK 8644, an activator of VDCCL, induced vasomotion, which was also inhibited by nifedipine. In the human artery, L-methionine induced a vascular tonic contraction (0.15 g) and enhanced vasomotion by 179%. Additionally, lidocaine induced peak and tonic contractions of 1 g and 0.7 g, respectively. Both L-methionine and lidocaine also enhanced vasomotion induced by BayK 8644. The molecular presence of TREK-1 and TASK-2 was confirmed via Western blot in human gastric muscle, gastric mucosa, and artery, respectively. These findings suggest that TREK-1 and TASK-2 may be significant regulators of human gastric muscle and vascular motility.

Cell proliferation plays a crucial role in muscle atrophy-regeneration. However, the functional roles of Long non-coding RNA X-inactive specific transcript (lncRNA Xist) in C2C12 cell proliferation re...

In the lower urinary tract, coordinated function between the bladder and urethra is essential for normal micturition, requiring smooth muscle contraction and relaxation in a tightly regulated cycle. D...

Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant multisystemic connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in the FBN1 gene. Although clinical changes in the cardiovascular, ocular, and skeletal systems ha...

Muscle injury activates satellite cells and fibroblasts, with extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediating the related intercellular communication. The influence of EVs released by either cell type on recip...

Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) comprise the medial layer of blood vessels and are responsible for maintaining vascular tone. Ordinarily quiescent and contractile, SMC can dedifferentiate into diff...

Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility -

This study was performed to investigate the effect of exercise prehabilitation (EPH) on passive force, residual force enhancement (RFE), and muscle protein expression in rat skeletal muscle. A total o...

This Special Collection focuses on molecular to cell-level mechanisms that drive contractility in striated muscle. This area of research is transforming from ...

© 2025 Springer Nature

Strength-duration (S-D) relationship reflects muscle excitability which partially determines force production. Isolated muscle contains part of nerve and neuromuscular junction, suggesting that muscle...

This Special Collection focuses on molecular to cell-level mechanisms that drive contractility in striated muscle. This area of research is transforming from ...

© 2025 Springer Nature

The relative timing of the force-generating power stroke and release of the ATP-hydrolysis product orthophosphate (Pi) in actomyosin energy transduction is debated. It may be explored by studying the ...

The Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility is dedicated to publishing original research on the excitation and contraction of muscle and the processes ...

A brief discussion about skeletal muscle, aberrant expression of dystrophin from null mutations of the gene, potential explanations as to why this occurs, and how understanding this could be useful fo...

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of MOTS-c on the key functional alterations in the rat soleus muscle during 7-day unloading - the transformation of slow fibers into fast ones, atrop...