Figure 4.

Contractile responses to inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and Ca²⁺-activated Cl⁻ channel (Ano1) in the colonic muscles of control (Con) and partial colon obstruction (PCO) mice. (A, B) The inhibitory effects of NG-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME; 100 μM) on spontaneous contractions in the proximal and distal colons of both control and PCO mice. (C, D) Summary data shows the normalized area under the curve (AUC) in control and after the application of L-NAME (n = 5; *P < 0.05, control vs L-NAME; ^#P < 0.05, control vs PCO mice). (E, F) Response of colonic smooth muscle contractions to 5-Nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid (NPPB; 5 μM) in the proximal and distal colon in both control and PCO mice. (G, H) Summary of the contractile responses to NPPB as indicated by the AUC in colonic muscles of control and PCO mice. The data were normalized to the control value (before the application of NPPB) (n = 5; *P < 0.05, NPPB vs control; ^#P < 0.05, PCO vs control mice).