The gastrointestinal (GI) tract displays multiple motor patterns that move nutrients and
wastes through the body. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) provide the forces necessary for GI …

Inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) are a family of tetrameric intracellular calcium
(Ca2+) release channels that are located on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane of …

Aberrant uterine contractions can lead to preterm birth and other labour complications and
are a significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. To investigate the mechanisms …

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the major cause of lower urinary tract symptoms in
men aged 50 or older. Symptoms are not normally life threatening, but often drastically affect …

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) serve several critical physiological roles in visceral smooth
muscle organs, including acting as electrical pacemakers to modulate phasic contractile …

Overview• Individual organs‐ICC‐LCs in the bladder‐ICC‐LCs in the urethra‐ICC‐LCs in
the penis‐ICC‐LCs in the upper urinary tract‐ICC‐LCs in the prostate• Future of ICC‐LCs …

Entrained oscillations in Ca2+ underlie many biological pacemaking phenomena. In this
article, we review a long‐range signaling mechanism in smooth muscle that results in global …

During emission, the first phase of ejaculation, smooth muscle in organs of the male
reproductive tract (MRT) vigorously contract upon sympathetic nerve excitation to expel …

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Uterine spontaneous contraction and pacemaking are
poorly understood. This study investigates the role of the mitochondrial Ca2+ store in uterine …

The process of urine removal from the kidney occurs via the renal pelvis (RP). The RP
demarcates the beginning of the upper urinary tract and is endowed with smooth muscle …