Abstract
In vascular smooth muscles the contraction-relaxation cycles are regulated by changes in the intracellular free Ca concentration; second messengers (signal transductors) play an essential role in the regulation of the cell activity through modulation of free Ca in the cytosol. The Ca homeostasis in vascular smooth muscles is controlled by various factors: increases in the intracellular Ca concentration are mediated by Ca influx through the activation of voltage-dependent and receptor-operated channels and the release of Ca from the sarcoplasmic reticulum; decreases in the free Ca concentration are caused by Ca efflux through the activation of the Ca active transport system and through active Ca accumulation into the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Furthermore, the Na-Ca exchange diffusion mechanism is thought to contribute partly to the reduction in the free Ca. In this chapter, the role of second messengers such as cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP, diacylglycerol (including the action of phorbol esters) and inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate on Ca regulation in vascular smooth muscles is reviewed.
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