Smooth Muscle

The Smooth Muscle Research Centre at DkIT is the largest group of researchers in physiology and electrophysiology of smooth muscle in Ireland and the UK. Uniquely for Ireland, the entire research programme at the SMRC focuses on the cellular mechanisms that control smooth muscle function in health and in disease states such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, lymphoedema, hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Current Research The Centre is at the forefront of research into the cellular mechanisms that underlie contractile activity in a wide variety of smooth muscle types including urethra, erectile, vascular and lymphatic. They established for the first time that specialized pacemaking cells termed Interstitial Cells of Cajal (ICC) were present in smooth muscles outside the gastrointestinal tract. These cells are non contractile but generate spontaneous electrical activity that is communicated to and thus controls the electrical activity of the bulk smooth muscle.

Since this initial discovery, they have continued to develop expertise in electrophysiology, real time Ca2+ imaging, immunohistochemistry and single cell PCR. This research has attracted substantial external funding and resulted in a significant number of full papers in high impact, peer reviewed journals.

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