Cardiovascular function depends on an adequate vascular tone facilitating appropriate blood flow to individual tissues according to their needs. The tone results from the interplay between vasodilatation and vasoconstriction. Its rapid and efficient regulation is secured by many interconnected physiological mechanisms, both at the level of the vascular smooth muscle and the endothelium. The purpose of this review is to provide an update of the current knowledge on the mechanisms of physiological vasodilatation. First, two principal intracellular signaling pathways linked to the activation of protein kinases PKA and PKG are introduced. Subsequently, the role of endothelium-derived relaxing factors together with the endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization is discussed. The roles of ion channels and gap junctions in the communication between endothelium and vascular smooth muscle cells are particularly discussed. Finally, principal vasodilatory stimuli (mechanical, thermal, chemical) and their mechanisms of action are briefly introduced.

• Klíčová slova
• EDRF, NO, PKA, PKG, Vasodilatation,
• MeSH
• cévní endotel fyziologie   MeSH
• iontové kanály fyziologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mezerový spoj fyziologie   MeSH
• proteinkinasy závislé na cyklickém AMP metabolismus   MeSH
• proteinkinasy závislé na cyklickém GMP metabolismus   MeSH
• signální transdukce fyziologie   MeSH
• svaly hladké cévní fyziologie   MeSH
• vazodilatace * fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• iontové kanály MeSH
• proteinkinasy závislé na cyklickém AMP MeSH
• proteinkinasy závislé na cyklickém GMP MeSH

Milk and dairy products are important sources of nutrients in the human diet because they contain a number of essential substances and other biologically active components. Many of these substances can be modified, and thus offer opportunities to use milk and dairy products as functional food. Isoflavones are particularly important in human nutrition due to their diverse pharmacological and antioxidant properties. The clinical effectiveness of isoflavone-rich products is believed to be dependent on their ability to metabolize daidzein to equol, which may directly exert cancer preventive effects. However, only approximately 30-40% of humans are able to produce equol, while animals, in general, produce equol. Equol is the predominant product of bacterial metabolism of isoflavones and can be found in various amounts in some food of animal origin, especially in milk. Therefore, milk and dairy products can be considered to be sources of equol for humans who are not able to produce this metabolite. When the content of isoflavones in milk is to be modified, two groups of factors should be considered, i.e., dietary factors that include the source of isoflavones and the processing effects on feedstuffs and animal factors that include the intake of isoflavones, ruminal and postruminal changes, and the health and physiological status of animals. The approximate content of isoflavones in milk can be predicted using carry-over rates for different dietary sources or using a formula that describes the relationship between equol concentration in milk and formononetin intake. Processing and storage can affect the content and profile of isoflavones in milk and dairy products.

• Klíčová slova
• carry-over, cows, dairy, health, isoflavone, metabolism,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide. They may be caused by various factors or combinations of factors. Frequently, endothelial dysfunction is involved in either development of the disorder or results from it. On the other hand, the endothelium may be disordered for other reasons, e.g., due to infection, such as COVID-19. The understanding of the role and significance of the endothelium in the body has changed significantly over time-from a simple physical barrier to a complex system encompassing local and systemic regulation of numerous processes in the body. Endothelium disorders may arise from impairment of one or more signaling pathways affecting dilator or constrictor activity, including nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate activation, prostacyclin-cyclic adenosine monophosphate activation, phosphodiesterase inhibition, and potassium channel activation or intracellular calcium level inhibition. In this review, plants are summarized as sources of biologically active substances affecting the endothelium. This paper compares individual substances and mechanisms that are known to affect the endothelium, and which subsequently may cause the development of cardiovascular disorders.

• Klíčová slova
• endothelium, nitric oxide, vasoactive substances, vasoconstriction, vasodilation,
• MeSH
• cévní endotel cytologie   účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• rostliny chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• sekundární metabolismus * MeSH
• vazodilatace účinky léků   fyziologie   MeSH
• vazodilatancia chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• rostlinné extrakty MeSH
• vazodilatancia MeSH