Chiba Yoshihiko, Sakai Hiroyasu, Wachi Hiroshi, Sugitani Hideki, Seyama Yoshiyuki, Misawa Miwa
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Hoshi University, 2-4-41 Ebara, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan.
J Smooth Muscle Res. 2003 Dec;39(6):221-8. doi: 10.1540/jsmr.39.221.
It has recently been suggested that RhoA plays an important role in the enhancement of Ca2+ sensitization observed in smooth muscle contraction. In the present study, the expression of rhoA mRNA in the bronchial smooth muscle of antigen-induced airway hyperresponsive rats was compared with that of control animals. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction experiments using total RNA from these tissue specimens and the specific primers revealed rhoA mRNA to be expressed in bronchial smooth muscle of the rat. The rhoA mRNA expression in bronchial smooth muscle of the hyperresponsive rats was significantly increased in comparison to that of control animals. It is thus possible that upregulation of RhoA protein might be involved in the mechanism underlying the increased contractility of the bronchial smooth muscle which occurs with airway hyperresponsiveness.
最近有人提出，RhoA在平滑肌收缩过程中观察到的Ca2+敏感性增强中起重要作用。在本研究中，将抗原诱导的气道高反应性大鼠支气管平滑肌中rhoA mRNA的表达与对照动物进行了比较。使用来自这些组织标本的总RNA和特异性引物进行逆转录-聚合酶链反应实验，结果显示rhoA mRNA在大鼠支气管平滑肌中表达。与对照动物相比，高反应性大鼠支气管平滑肌中的rhoA mRNA表达显著增加。因此，RhoA蛋白的上调可能参与了气道高反应性时支气管平滑肌收缩性增加的潜在机制。
