Signal pathways involved in emodin-induced contraction of smooth muscle cells from rat colon

Figure 1 Freshly isolated colonic smooth muscle cells appeared in spindle shape with diverse length. Some of them were re-laxed while others were at different phases of contraction.

Figure 2 Dose-response curve representing the effects of emo-din on the length of isolated colonic smooth muscle cell. Val-ues are mean ± SD of 3 experiments.

Figure 3 [Ca²⁺]i response of colonic smooth muscle cells to emodin.

Figure 4 Effect of ML-7 and calphostin C on emodin-induced contraction of colonic smooth muscle cells. Emodin-induced cell shortening was 19.17% ± 2.59%. Preincubation of the cells with ML-7 and calphostin C resulted in a decrease in cell contraction. ^aP < 0.05 vs Emodin group.

Figure 5 Membrane translocation of PKCα in response to emo-din stimulation in smooth muscle cells of rat colon. Confocal microscopy showed PKCα distributed throughout the cell at rest state (left). When cells were stimulated with emodin (50 μmol/L), PKCα translocated to the membrane (right).