SEMINAR: Smooth muscle, how does it work and why do we care

Dr. Seow specializes in smooth and skeletal muscle cell biology/physiology. His current research focus is on the mechanical function, ultrastructure and biochemistry of airway smooth muscle, in health and disease. There are two main components of his current CIHR-funded research program. One focuses on the basic mechanism of contraction in smooth muscle, the other focuses on airway hyperresponsiveness related to dysfunction of airway smooth muscle. His other research interests include skeletal muscle mechanics, ATPase cycle associated with the crossbridge cycle, and mathematical modeling of muscle function.

We know much more about how skeletal muscle contracts than we do about smooth muscle. The main reason is that we do not have a clear idea about the structure of the contractile unit (sarcomere equivalent) in smooth muscle. My presentation will focus on recent findings on the structural and functional properties in smooth muscle and how these unique smooth muscle properties allow the muscle to function over a much larger length range compared with that in skeletal muscle, and also how dysregulation of these properties could lead to dysfunction of hollow organs containing smooth muscle.