Effects of extravascular acidification and extravascular alkalinization on constriction and depolarization in rat cerebral arterioles in vitro

1994 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans H. Dietrich ◽  
Ralph G. Dacey

✓ The relationship between cell membrane potential, vessel diameter, and pH in small cerebral arterioles is not completely understood. This study involved direct, simultaneous measurement of cell membrane potential and vessel diameter at various extracellular pH levels. Arterioles ranging from 44 to 91 µm in diameter were isolated, transferred to a temperature-controlled microscope chamber, which was used as an organ bath, and observed through an inverted videomicroscope. Two vessel cannulation procedures were used: a single-sided cannulation with the other side occluded, and a double-sided and perfused cannulation. After cannulation, the vessels were pressurized to 60 mm Hg intraluminally and the bath temperature was raised to 37°C. Cell membrane potentials of vessel wall cells were obtained after the bath temperature reached 37°C with the vessels partly constricted and again after spontaneous tone (constriction) of the healthy vessels had developed. The effect of extraluminal pH on cell membrane potentials was studied by changing the bath pH from 7.3 to either 7.65 or 6.8 in the single-sided cannulation. The average cell membrane potential for vessels at 37°C, with 60 mm Hg of intraluminal pressure and pH 7.3, was −37.5 mV. The cell membrane potential depolarized to −30.9 mV at pH 7.65 and hyperpolarized to −58.4 mV at pH 6.8, with a slope of 25.8 mV/pH unit. The effect of depolarizing extracellular potassium ions on the cell membrane potential was examined by perfusing two vessels with modified Ringer's solution containing 70 mM KCl. This perfusion method decreased the vessel diameter by 48% and depolarized the observed cell membrane potential from −41.9 to −19.8 mV, with a slope of −0.42 mV per percentage diameter change. These data provide the first measurements of membrane potentials of isolated penetrating arteriole wall cells in vitro. The results indicate that the cell membrane potential relates linearly to the vessel diameter. This new technique opens the possibility for studying vessel response to stimuli under controlled conditions and regulatory mechanisms such as the propagation of vasomotor responses.

2021 ◽  
pp. 096032712110387
Author(s):  
Di Zhang ◽  
Fangfang Yu ◽  
Huanhuan Li ◽  
Qiuyue Wang ◽  
Meiya Wang ◽  
...  

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely applied in the field of personal protection for their powerful toxic effects on cells, and recently, a new type of vaginal gel with AgNPs is used to protect the female reproductive tract from microbes and viruses. However, a high risk of AgNPs to the fetus and the underlying mechanism of AgNPs to interfere in embryo development still remain unclear. Thus, this study investigated the impact of two drugs of vaginal gel with AgNPs on reproductive capability of the female mouse by animal experiment. Then, kinetics of AgNPs affecting embryo development was investigated by in vitro embryos culturing, and cell membrane potential (CMP) of zygotes was analyzed by DiBAC4(3) staining. Results indicated that one of the drugs of vaginal gel certainly injured embryo development in spite of no apparent histological change found in ovaries and uteruses of drug-treated mice. In vitro embryo culturing discovered that the toxic effect of AgNPs on embryo development presented particle sizes and dose dependent, and AgNP treatment could rapidly trigger depolarization of the cell membrane of zygotes. Moreover, AgNPs changed the gene expression pattern of Oct-4 and Cdx2 in blastocysts. All these findings suggest that AgNPs can interfere with normal cellular status including cell membrane potential, which has not been noticed in previous studies on the impact of AgNPs on mammalian embryos. Thus, findings of this study alarm us the risk of applying vaginal gel with AgNPs in individual caring and protection of the female reproductive system.


2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (5) ◽  
pp. R1540-R1544
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Lutz ◽  
Alois Estermann ◽  
Nori Geary ◽  
Erwin Scharrer

The pancreatic hormone glucagon hyperpolarizes the liver cell membrane under various conditions. Here we investigated the physiological relevance of this effect by testing the influence of infusions of glucagon antiserum on the liver cell membrane potential in vivo. Intracellular microelectrode recordings of liver cells (up to 60/rat over 2 h) were done in anesthetized male rats. Livers were fixed in place, and recordings were done 10–30 min after intraperitoneal injections of glucagon or hepatic portal vein infusions of glucagon or specific polyclonal glucagon antibodies raised in rabbits. The isotonic lactose vehicle was used as a control for glucagon, and equal amounts of nonimmunized rabbit IgG were used as a control for glucagon antibodies. Intraperitoneal glucagon (400 μg/kg) hyperpolarized the liver cell membrane up to 12 mV, and intraportal glucagon (10 or 60 μg/kg) dose dependently hyperpolarized the liver cell membrane by 3–7 mV. Intraportal infusion of glucagon antiserum (in vitro binding capacity of 4 ng glucagon/rat) significantly depolarized the liver cell membrane by ∼2.5 mV. The effects of both glucagon and glucagon antiserum reversed after 60–90 min. We conclude that glucagon is a physiologically important modulator of the liver cell membrane potential.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1101-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hartmut Vatter ◽  
Michael Zimmermann ◽  
Veronika Tesanovic ◽  
Andreas Raabe ◽  
Lothar Schilling ◽  
...  

Object. The central role of endothelin (ET)—1 in the development of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage is indicated by the successful treatment of this vasospasm in several animal models by using selective ETA receptor antagonists. Clazosentan is a selective ETA receptor antagonist that provides for the first time clinical proof that ET-1 is involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm. The aim of the present investigation was, therefore, to define the pharmacological properties of clazosentan that affect ETA receptor—mediated contraction in the cerebrovasculature. Methods. Isometric force measurements were performed in rat basilar artery (BA) ring segments with (E+) and without (E−) endothelial function. Concentration effect curves (CECs) were constructed by cumulative application of ET-1 or big ET-1 in the absence or presence of clazosentan (10−9, 10−8, and 10−7 M). The inhibitory potency of clazosentan was determined by the value of the affinity constant (pA2). The CECs for contraction induced by ET-1 and big ET-1 were shifted to the right in the presence of clazosentan in a parallel dose-dependent manner, which indicates competitive antagonism. The pA2 values for ET-1 were 7.8 (E+) and 8.6 (E−) and the corresponding values for big ET-1 were 8.6 (E+) and 8.3 (E−). Conclusions. The present data characterize clazosentan as a potent competitive antagonist of ETA receptor—mediated constriction of the cerebrovasculature by ET-1 and its precursor big ET-1. These functional data may also be used to define an in vitro profile of an ET receptor antagonist with a high probability of clinical efficacy.


1994 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Matsuda ◽  
Keiichi Kawamoto ◽  
Katsuzo Kiya ◽  
Kaoru Kurisu ◽  
Kazuhiko Sugiyama ◽  
...  

✓ The presence of the progesterone receptor (PR) in meningioma tissue has been confirmed by previous investigations. Studies have shown that the antiprogesterone drug, mifepristone, is a potent agent that inhibits the growth of cultured meningioma cells and reduces the size of meningiomas in experimental animal models and humans. However, these studies have not fully examined the relationship between the antitumor effects of an antiprogesterone agent and the expression of the PR. The present study examined the antitumor effects of mifepristone and a new potent antiprogesterone agent, onapristone; a correlation between the antitumor effects of these antiprogesterones and the presence of PR's in meningiomas in vitro and in vivo was also investigated. Meningioma tissue surgically removed from 13 patients was used in this study. In the in vitro arm of the study, mifepristone and onapristone exhibited cytostatic and cytocidal effects against cultured meningioma cells, regardless of the presence or absence of PR's; however, three PR-negative meningiomas showed no response to any dose of mifepristone and/or onapristone. In the in vivo arm, meningioma cells, embedded in a collagen gel, were implanted into the renal capsules of nude mice. Antiprogesterone treatment resulted in a marked reduction of the tumor volume regardless of the presence or absence of PR's. No histological changes in the meningioma cells suggestive of necrosis or apoptosis were detected in any of the mice treated with antiprogesterones. These findings suggest that mifepristone and onapristone have an antitumor effect against meningioma cells via the PR's and/or another receptor, such as the glucocorticoid receptor.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad H. Khan ◽  
John J. Walsh ◽  
Jelena M. Mihailović ◽  
Sandeep K. Mishra ◽  
Daniel Coman ◽  
...  

AbstractUnder normal conditions, high sodium (Na+) in extracellular (Na+e) and blood (Na+b) compartments and low Na+ in intracellular milieu (Na+i) produce strong transmembrane (ΔNa+mem) and weak transendothelial (ΔNa+end) gradients respectively, and these manifest the cell membrane potential (Vm) as well as blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity. We developed a sodium (23Na) magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) method using an intravenously-administered paramagnetic polyanionic agent to measure ΔNa+mem and ΔNa+end. In vitro 23Na-MRSI established that the 23Na signal is intensely shifted by the agent compared to other biological factors (e.g., pH and temperature). In vivo 23Na-MRSI showed Na+i remained unshifted and Na+b was more shifted than Na+e, and these together revealed weakened ΔNa+mem and enhanced ΔNa+end in rat gliomas (vs. normal tissue). Compared to normal tissue, RG2 and U87 tumors maintained weakened ΔNa+mem (i.e., depolarized Vm) implying an aggressive state for proliferation, whereas RG2 tumors displayed elevated ∆Na+end suggesting altered BBB integrity. We anticipate that 23Na-MRSI will allow biomedical explorations of perturbed Na+ homeostasis in vivo.


2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 1119-1124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay S. Naik ◽  
Scott Earley ◽  
Thomas C. Resta ◽  
Benjimen R. Walker

Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, as well as prolonged residence at high altitude, can result in generalized airway hypoxia, eliciting an increase in pulmonary vascular resistance. We hypothesized that a portion of the elevated pulmonary vascular resistance following chronic hypoxia (CH) is due to the development of myogenic tone. Isolated, pressurized small pulmonary arteries from control (barometric pressure ≅ 630 Torr) and CH (4 wk, barometric pressure = 380 Torr) rats were loaded with fura 2-AM and perfused with warm (37°C), aerated (21% O2-6% CO2-balance N2) physiological saline solution. Vascular smooth muscle (VSM) intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and diameter responses to increasing intraluminal pressure were determined. Diameter and VSM cell [Ca2+]i responses to KCl were also determined. In a separate set of experiments, VSM cell membrane potential responses to increasing luminal pressure were determined in arteries from control and CH rats. VSM cell membrane potential in arteries from CH animals was depolarized relative to control at each pressure step. VSM cells from both groups exhibited a further depolarization in response to step increases in intraluminal pressure. However, arteries from both control and CH rats distended passively to increasing intraluminal pressure, and VSM cell [Ca2+]i was not affected. KCl elicited a dose-dependent vasoconstriction that was nearly identical between control and CH groups. Whereas KCl administration resulted in a dose-dependent increase in VSM cell [Ca2+]i in arteries taken from control animals, this stimulus elicited only a slight increase in VSM cell [Ca2+]i in arteries from CH animals. We conclude that the pulmonary circulation of the rat does not demonstrate pressure-induced vasoconstriction.


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