Augmented bronchial smooth muscle contractility induced by aqueous cigarette smoke extract in rats.

Cigarette smoking is the main risk factor for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, little is known about the mechanisms of cigarette smoke-induced bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) hyperresponsiveness. In the present study, we investigated the effects of aqueous cigarette smoke extract (ACSE) on the BSM contraction in rats. The bronchial strips of rats were incubated with ACSE or control-extract for 24 h. The acetylcholine (ACh), high K(+) depolarization and sodium fluoride (NaF)-induced BSM contraction of the ACSE-treated group was significantly augmented as compared to that of the control one. The expression levels of both myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) and RhoA were significantly increased in the ACSE-treated BSM. These findings suggest that the water-soluble components of cigarette smoke may cause BSM hyperresponsiveness via an increase in MLCK and RhoA.

Effect of sugammadex on bronchial smooth muscle function in rats.

Sugammadex can encapsulate the steroid-based neuromuscular blocker molecule and results in rapid reversal of neuromuscular blockade induced by rocuronium and vecuronium. However, several cases of bronchospasm after the administration of sugammadex have been reported. The current study was carried out to determine whether sugammadex directly affects smooth muscle function of the airways. The ring strips of left main bronchi were isolated from male Wistar rats and isometric forces were measured. In the isolated bronchial smooth muscle tissues, sugammadex (10⁻8-10⁻³ M) had no effect on baseline tension or the acetylcholine (ACh; 30 µM)-induced sustained contraction. Moreover, sugammadex did not affect bronchial smooth muscle responsiveness to ACh. These findings indicate that sugammadex itself does not affect contractile function in bronchial smooth muscle of the rat.

[On the Chosen Pharmaceutical Association and "The Journal of the Chosen Pharmaceutical Association"].

In the 20th century, the medical and pharmaceutical fields in Korea and Japan were markedly developed. There was a deep relationship between the two countries as Japan had annexed Korea from 1910 to 1945, until the end of World War II. The present study was performed to investigate the Chosen Pharmaceutical Association and "The Journal of the Chosen Pharmaceutical Association" to research part of the history of Korean pharmacology in those days. In 1914, the Chosen Pharmaceutical Association was established; Takasato Kojima was appointed as the first chairman. The first issue of "The Journal of the Chosen Pharmaceutical Association" was published in 1921 as the only chemical bulletin in Korea. The contents of the journals mainly consisted of academic papers, investigations on hygiene and health in Korea and management reports of the association. Concerning the academic papers, most of them were on studies of environmental health and medicinal plants in Korea. The Chosen Pharmaceutical Association was disbanded by 1945.