The vascular smooth muscle cell plays a significant role in many important cardiovascular disorders, and smooth muscle biology is therefore important to cardiovascular research. The mouse is critical to basic cardiovascular research, largely because techniques for genetic manipulation are more fully developed in the mouse than in any other mammalian species. We describe here a technique for iso...

OBJECTIVE We determined the effects of sustained normocholesterolemia on advanced mouse atherosclerosis and whether changes in plaque size and composition can be detected noninvasively by MRI. METHODS AND RESULTS Aortic arch segments containing advanced lesions from apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice (total cholesterol 1281+/-97 mg/dL) were transplanted into syngeneic wild-type (WT; 11...

Background: The vascular function of Angiotensin II-type-2 receptors in adults is controversial. We sought their location and function in mouse aortic rings at young and old mice. Materials and Methods: Male C57Bl mice (aged 4 and 14 months) were killed by CO2. The descending thoracic aorta was cleaned and dissected into rings. Aortic rings were mounted in Krebs’ solution at 37 °C an...

The opioid system is well-known for its role in modulating nociception and addiction development. However, there are premises that the endogenous may also affect blood pressure. main goal of present study was to determine impact different activity pharmacological blockade on Moreover, we examined vascular function hyper- hypoactive states modification. In our study, used two mouse lines which d...

In basic research using mouse heart, isolating viable individual cardiomyocytes is a crucial technical step to overcome. Traditionally, from rabbits, guinea pigs or rats has been performed via retrograde perfusion of the heart with enzymes Langendorff apparatus. However, high degree skill required when this method used small heart. An antegrade that does not use apparatus was recently reported ...

AIMS CYP1A1 and CYP1B1, members of the cytochrome P450 protein family, are regulated by fluid shear stress. This study describes the effects of duration, magnitude and pattern of shear stress on CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 expressions in human endothelial cells, towards the goal of understanding the role(s) of these genes in pro-atherogenic or anti-atherogenic endothelial cell functions. METHODS AND RE...

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a genetically heterogeneous, autosomal-recessive disorder associated with several clinical features including obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular abnormalities. BBS proteins play an important role in the function of cilia, a mechanosensory organelle in endothelial cells, but whether these proteins are directly involved in the regulation of vascular function ...

We sought to determine direct vascular effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) agonists using isolated mouse aortas and middle cerebral arteries (MCAs). The PPARα agonists GW7647, WY14643, and gemfibrozil acutely relaxed aortas held under isometric tension and dilated pressurized MCAs with the following order of potency: GW7647≫WY14643>gemfibrozil. Responses were end...

OBJECTIVE Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is a multi-system disorder characterized by progressive cyst formation in the kidneys. Serious complications of ADPKD are intracranial and aortic aneurysms. The condition is mainly caused by mutations in the PKD1 or PKD2 gene. We have carefully analyzed vascular remodeling in hypomorphic Pkd1(nl/nL) mouse model with dissecting aneur...