DOI: https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2011.103
Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/546
Date of Award
6-2011
Degree Name
MS in Biomedical Engineering
Department/Program
Biomedical and General Engineering
Advisor
Trevor Cardinal
Abstract
Functional vasodilation in arterioles is impaired with chronic ischemia. We sought to examine the impact of chronic ischemia and age on skeletal muscle resistance artery function. To examine the impact of chronic ischemia, the femoral artery was resected from young (2-3mo) and adult (6-7mo) mice and the profunda femoris artery diameter was measured at rest and following gracilis muscle contraction 14 days later using intravital microscopy. Functional vasodilation was significantly impaired in ischemic mice (14.4±4.6% vs. 137.8±14.3%, p<0.0001 n=8) and non-ischemic adult mice (103.0±9.4% vs. 137.8±14.3%, p=0.05 n=10). In order to analyze the cellular mechanisms of the impairment, a protocol was developed to apply pharmacological agents to the experimental preparation while maintaining tissue homeostasis. Endothelial and smooth muscle dependent vasodilation were impaired with ischemia, 39.6 ± 13.6% vs. 80.5 ± 11.4% and 43.0 ± 11.7% vs. 85.1 ± 10.5%, respectively. From this data, it can be supported that smooth muscle dysfunction is the reason for the observed impairment in arterial vasodilation.
Included in
Cardiovascular Diseases Commons, Cardiovascular System Commons, Cellular and Molecular Physiology Commons, Disease Modeling Commons, Medical Molecular Biology Commons, Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Engineering Commons, Musculoskeletal, Neural, and Ocular Physiology Commons, Other Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons