Assessment of airway hyperresponsiveness in murine tracheal rings.
Isolated tracheal rings have often been used to directly measure the contractile output of airway smooth muscle (ASM). Here, we describe the method for excising murine tracheas, mounting tracheal rings in organ baths, and measuring the isometric forces generated by the ASM when stimulated by drug additions or electric field stimulation. The apparatus for the setup and the pathways responsible for stimulation are detailed. Examples of the responses and analyses of two types of ASM stimulation are illustrated: (1) the carbachol concentration-response curve and (2) the frequency-response curve elicited by electric field stimulation.
Department of Physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Jeremiah T
JT
Herlihy
Iurii
I
Semenov
Robert
R
Brenner
D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D051379:Mice; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D014132:Trachea / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
D002217:Carbachol