| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Symposium Report |
1 Departamento de Fisologia, facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Arzobispo Morcillo 2, 28029-Madrid, Spain 2 Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain 3 West Medical Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK 4 University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, 11937 US Highway 271, Tyler, TX 75757, USA
Abstract
We have previously developed a method for estimating elastin content and organization in resistance arteries, where it is a minor component. The aim of the present study was to validate the method against a quantitative assay and to determine the relative importance of elastin content and organization for intrinsic elasticity of small arteries. Mesenteric third order branches (from 10-day-old, 1- and 6-month-old rats) and middle cerebral arteries (from 6-month-old rats) were pressurized. ß-Values were calculated from stress–strain relationships and used as indicators of intrinsic stiffness. The same pressure-fixed arteries were used to estimate elastin content and organization in the internal elastic lamina with confocal microscopy. Collagen and elastin contents were determined by Picrosirius Red staining and radioimmunoassay for desmosine, respectively. Confocal and desmosine assays gave similar results: no difference in elastin content of mesenteric vessels from 1- and 6-month-old rats, and a significant reduction in cerebral compared to mesenteric arteries. For all parameters (elastin and collagen content, fenestrae area and internal elastic lamina thickness) the best correlation was found between ß-values and fenestrae size. These data suggest that in small arteries: (1) confocal microscopy can be used as a method for the simultaneous study of changes in elastin content and organization; and (2) elastin organization might be a key determinant of intrinsic elastic properties.
(Received 9 March 2005;
accepted after revision 5 May 2005; first published online 12 May 2005)
Corresponding author S. M. Arribas: Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Arzobispo Morcillo 2, 28029-Madrid, Spain. Email: silvia.arribas{at}uam.es
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  G. Douglas, M. Natalia Cruz, L. Poston, J.-A. Gustafsson, and K. Kublickiene Functional characterization and sex differences in small mesenteric arteries of the estrogen receptor- knockout mouse Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, January 1, 2008; 294(1): R112 - R120. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. M. Arribas, C. J. Daly, M. C. Gonzalez, and J. C. McGrath Imaging the vascular wall using confocal microscopy J. Physiol., October 1, 2007; 584(1): 5 - 9. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. M. Gonzalez, A. M. Briones, B. Somoza, C. J. Daly, E. Vila, B. Starcher, J. C. McGrath, M. C. Gonzalez, and S. M. Arribas Postnatal alterations in elastic fiber organization precede resistance artery narrowing in SHR Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, August 1, 2006; 291(2): H804 - H812. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Somoza, F. Abderrahim, J. M. Gonzalez, M. V. Conde, S. M. Arribas, B. Starcher, J. Regadera, M. S. Fernandez-Alfonso, J. J. Diaz-Gil, and M. C. Gonzalez Short-term treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats with liver growth factor reduces carotid artery fibrosis, improves vascular function, and lowers blood pressure Cardiovasc Res, February 15, 2006; 69(3): 764 - 771. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. McGrath New aspects of artery resistance and structure Exp Physiol, July 1, 2005; 90(4): 447 - 447. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
