Fig. 5.

Suppression of ACh-induced MLCK phosphorylation by proinflammatory cytokines. Longitudinal muscle cells isolated from colon of control and TNBS-treated mice (A) or from muscle strips cultured in the absence (control) or presence of IL-1β (10 ng/ml) or TNF-α (1 nM) for 24 hours (B) were treated with 1 µM of ACh for 30 seconds to measure MLCK phosphorylation. MLCK phosphorylation was measured in cells labeled with ³²P, and results are expressed as cpm/mg protein. Values are means ± S.E.M. of five experiments. **P < 0.01, significantly different from control response to ACh.