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Excitation and Contraction in Vascular Smooth Muscle

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Structure and Function of the Circulation

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Abstract

The contractile state of vascular smooth muscle is the final determinant of vasoregulation at the cellular level. In this chapter we shall deal primarily with the mechanism of vascular smooth muscle contraction and its regulation. The electrical activity and ionic permeability of the surface membrane of vascular smooth muscle play major roles in excitation-contraction and inhibition-relaxation coupling: the processes responsible for, respectively, activating and inactivating the contractile apparatus in response to external stimuli or intracellular oscillations. It is generally agreed that the level of free cytoplasmic Ca concentration is the major determinant of the contractile state in smooth, as in striated, muscle. Calcium acts on a Ca sensitive regulatory mechanism, details of which are still not fully agreed upon (Hartshorne and Aksoy, 1977; Ebashi et al., 1978; Adelstein 1978), and which in a “high Ca++ state” permits force generation through the interaction of the contractile proteins actin and myosin. Therefore, in this chapter we shall provide an outline of excitatory and inhibitory membrane phenomena in vascular smooth muscle, assess the sources and sinks of activator Ca, and review the ultrastructural organization of the contractile apparatus.

Supported by HL-15835 to the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute and GM00092.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pennsylvania Muscle Institute and Departments of Physiology and Pathology, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, USA

    Andrew P. Somlyo M.D. & Avril V. Somlyo Ph.D.

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  1. Andrew P. Somlyo M.D.
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  2. Avril V. Somlyo Ph.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas Health Science Center, USA

    Colin J. Schwartz M.D., F.R.A.C.P. (Professor of Pathology, Member of Scientific Staff) (Professor of Pathology, Member of Scientific Staff)

  2. Southwest Foundation for Research & Education, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    Colin J. Schwartz M.D., F.R.A.C.P. (Professor of Pathology, Member of Scientific Staff) (Professor of Pathology, Member of Scientific Staff)

  3. Office of Naval Research, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Nicholas T. Werthessen Ph.D. (Bioscientist, Senior Research Associate) (Bioscientist, Senior Research Associate)

  4. Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Nicholas T. Werthessen Ph.D. (Bioscientist, Senior Research Associate) (Bioscientist, Senior Research Associate)

  5. Medical Affairs, St. Luke’s Hospital, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stewart Wolf M.D. (Vice President, Professor of Medicine, Director) (Vice President, Professor of Medicine, Director)

  6. Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stewart Wolf M.D. (Vice President, Professor of Medicine, Director) (Vice President, Professor of Medicine, Director)

  7. Totts Gap Institute, Bangor, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stewart Wolf M.D. (Vice President, Professor of Medicine, Director) (Vice President, Professor of Medicine, Director)

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© 1981 Plenum Press, New York

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Somlyo, A.P., Somlyo, A.V. (1981). Excitation and Contraction in Vascular Smooth Muscle. In: Schwartz, C.J., Werthessen, N.T., Wolf, S. (eds) Structure and Function of the Circulation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7927-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7927-4_10

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