title: Measurement of changes in endothelial and smooth muscle Ca²⁺ in pressurized arteries.
abstract: The use of single- and dual-wavelength Ca(2+)-sensitive fluorescent dyes to monitor changes in endothelial and/or smooth muscle intracellular Ca(2+) levels has provided information linking Ca(2+) events to changes in arterial function. Here we describe the in vitro techniques used to selectively load Ca(2+) indicators into either the endothelium or the smooth muscle of cannulated rat cremaster arteries. These vessels normally develop spontaneous myogenic tone that is largely unaffected by the loading of Ca2+ indicators or the subsequent imaging procedures. This suggests that there is minimal Ca2+ buffering or damage, and that the fluorescent indicator-loaded vessels behave similarly to unloaded preparations. Importantly, these approaches are applicable to both isobaric and isometric preparations and have been also used for the study of a number of vascular beds including cerebral, mesenteric, coronary, and skeletal muscle vasculatures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. kim.dora@pharm.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Kim A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dora
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000378:metabolism*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D016257:Fura-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium; D016257:Fura-2