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Relaxation of Mammalian Smooth Muscles by Visible and Ultraviolet Radiation

Abstract

SMOOTH muscle of isolated mammalian arteries in a state of active tonic contraction will relax when exposed to light1–3. Other types of mammalian smooth muscles are insensitive to light or much less sensitive than vascular smooth muscle. When other types of smooth muscle are treated with nitrite ion (an ion which increases the photosensitivity of rabbit aortic strips1), they, too, become very sensitive to light. This report deals with the effects of ultraviolet and visible radiation on non-vascular smooth muscle, especially after treatment with NaNO2.

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References

  1. Furchgott, R. F., Pharm. Rev., 7, 183 (1955).

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  2. Furchgott, R. F., Ehrreich, S. J., and Greenblatt, E., J. Gen. Physiol., 44, 499 (1961).

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  3. Furchgott, R. F., Fed. Proc., 21, 319 (1962).

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  4. Ehrreich, S. J., Kao, C. Y., and Furchgott, R. F., Fed. Proc., 22, 309 (1963).

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EHRREICH, S., FURCHGOTT, R. Relaxation of Mammalian Smooth Muscles by Visible and Ultraviolet Radiation. Nature 218, 682–684 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/218682a0

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