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Integrity of myosin light chain kinase is essential for Ito cell contraction
Author(s) -
WATANABE SUMIO,
WANG XIANEN,
HIROSE MIYOKO,
OIDE HIROSUMI,
SHIMIZU HIDETAKE,
KITAMURA TSUNEO,
YUMOTO ATUKO,
SUZUKI SATOKO,
MIYAZAKI AKIHISA,
SATO NOBUHIRO
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.1995.tb01799.x
Subject(s) - myosin light chain kinase , medicine , myosin , immunoglobulin light chain , contraction (grammar) , microbiology and biotechnology , biophysics , immunology , biology , antibody
Hepatic sinusoidal Ito cells (fat storing cells) are believed to play a regulatory role on hepatic sinusoidal blood flow through their contraction. The detailed mechanism of contraction of Ito cells, however, is still unknown. The present study was undertaken to clarify the effect of new myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, on Ito cell contraction. Ito cells prepared from rat liver were cultured for 4 days before the study. The contraction of Ito cells, which was monitored and analysed by time‐lapse video tape recording, was triggered by addition of endothelin‐1. Wortmannin pretreatment for 1 h inhibited endothelin‐induced Ito cell contraction dose‐dependently. Therefore, the integrity of the actomyosin system is essential for Ito cell contraction and normal sinusoidal blood flow.