Life Sciences Commons^™

Pressure-Induced Intracellular Signaling In Isolated Arteries, Victor A. Miriel

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The ability of cells to respond to mechanical stimuli has been studied through a variety of techniques in numerous cell types. The cells of the vascular wall have adapted to specific mechanical stresses through the activation of intracellular signaling pathways which result in cell-specific responses such as hypertrophy, hyperplasia, proliferation, and migration. Vascular smooth muscle of the arteries have been shown to be sensitive to mechanical stimuli such as stretch, and pressure.

This study attempts to add to the current knowledge of mechanotransduction by utilizing the isolated artery preparation. This preparation allows for the study of vascular smooth muscle signal …

Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase And Growth Factor Regulation Of Flow-Mediated Vascular Remodeling, David Anthony Tulis

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

This study was designed to characterize structural remodeling of male Wistar rat mesenteric arteries exposed to elevated blood flow in vivo for 1, 3, or 7 days. A series of arterial ligations induced blood flow increases in ileal and second-order branch arteries compared to same animal control vessels. Neither mean carotid nor local mesenteric arterial pressures changed significantly pre- to post-ligation. The primary flow-mediated force in both vessels was shear stress with possible involvement of acute stretch-induced wall stress in the ileal artery. Significant luminal expansion and medial wall hypertrophy occurred in the ileal and second-order arteries in a time-dependent …