title: Regulation of Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle Function by Interstitial Cells.
abstract: Interstitial cells of mesenchymal origin form gap junctions with smooth muscle cells in visceral smooth muscles and provide important regulatory functions. In gastrointestinal (GI) muscles, there are two distinct classes of interstitial cells, c-Kit(+) interstitial cells of Cajal and PDGFRα(+) cells, that regulate motility patterns. Loss of these cells may contribute to symptoms in GI motility disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada; and ksanders@medicine.nevada.edu.
authors.forename: Kenton M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Nabeshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kito
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada; and.
authors.forename: Sung Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada; and.
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017615:Enteric Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D056885:Interstitial Cells of Cajal / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000502:physiology