Fig. 6.

Effect of the ROCK inhibitor Y27632 on ACh-induced contraction in GSMC of male and female rats. GSMC of male and female rats were stimulated with ACh (0.1 µM) in the presence or absence of 1 µM Y27632 and then viewed under a Nikon microscope. Images of treated and non-treated single cells were acquired and cell contraction measured. The ROCK inhibitor significantly inhibited ACh-induced contraction in GSMC of both male and female rats. Importantly, Y27632-induced inhibition of gastric muscle contraction abolished the sex differences in the strength of ACh-induced contractions (*P < 0.01 vs. male ACh, **P < 0.01 vs. female ACh; n = at least 50 cells from 10 different rats of each sex)