The contraction of smooth muscle is an essential process underpinning diverse physiological functions ranging from gastrointestinal motility to vascular regulation. At its core, smooth muscle ...

The heart pumps blood through the vascular system, supplying cells with oxygen and energy Smooth muscle cells in the vessels finely regulate the blood flow. If they cannot perform their task, ...

Skeletal muscle is the type of muscle that controls movement. Problems with these muscles can be minor, life-threatening, or ongoing problems that make it hard to perform basic daily activities.

Using whole genome sequencing, researchers identified a single variant in a microRNA gene, MIR145-5p, as the source of multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome, which had gone undiagnosed in a ...

A research group led by Dr. Keisuke Obara, Dr. Kento Yoshioka, and Professor Yoshio Tanaka from the Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, has ...

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy, affecting about 1 in 8,000 people. While it is well known for causing muscle weakness and stiffness, DM1 also ...

A research group has uncovered important details about how platelet-activating factor (PAF)—a powerful molecule involved in inflammation and allergic reactions—triggers contractions in the smooth ...

Neurons intertwine with small blood vessels in the brain, but how do the two communicate? With elaborate three-dimensional reconstructions of electron microscopy images, scientists led by Jie-Min Jia, ...

When you think about muscles, you probably think about the ones in your arms, legs, back or abs. However, muscles do far more than move the body. A muscle is a type of tissue, a group of cells that ...

Almost everyone shrinks with old age. Many older adults have more difficulty gaining muscle than they did in their childhood and teenage years. And when it comes to maintaining that muscle, the phrase ...