Main description:

The Resistance Arteries is focused on the general issue of the regulatory pathways in resistance arteries and comprises a selection of timely overviews and up-to-date research studies presented at the 4th International Symposium on Resistance Arteries. These small vessels act as major controllers of blood pressure, blood flow, and its distribution, and are involved in a variety of pathological conditions. Vascular diameter is influenced by a host of factors, some extrinsic to the smooth musc1e cells and some intrinsic. One will find contributions in nearly all of the five themes by which the book is organized; these address intra-and extracellular interactions, and membrane receptor pathways using vascular beds as diverse as the brain, he art, lung, kidney, and skin. Basic physiological studies are inc1uded; these examine: growth fac- tors, vasoactive endothelium-derived nitric oxide, the impacts of flow and stretch, myogenic mechanisms, calcium regulation by protein kinase C, and signal transduction pathways of the vascular smooth musc1e cell membrane receptors.
Not only are tissues from appropriate animal models exploited in most of these reports, but many reflect the current increase in the use of human tissue to elucidate vascular alterations of function and morphology in hypertension, atherosclerosis, and ischemia. Noteworthy among the many techniques used are: membrane permeabilization with toxins, fura-2 for calcium determination, single cell electrophysiology, and the application of confocal microscopy to isolated, living vessels.

Contents:

Theme 1: The Smooth Muscle Cell. Protein Kinase C (PKC) Activation Lowers the Calcium Requirement for Cerebral Artery Myogenic Tone. Distension Influences Responses to Agonists and Potassium in Several Types of Small Artery. a-Toxin Permeabilization of Rat Mesenteric Small Arteries and Effects of Stretch. Tension Development, Myosin Light Chain Phosphorylation and Changes in Intracellular Free [Ca2+] Induced by a1- and a2- Adrenoceptor Agonists. Vasopressin V1-Receptor Assay in Rat Small Mesenteric Arteries. Protein Kinase C and Contraction of Vascular Smooth Muscle. The Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Modulates Ca2+- Dependent Vasoconstriction. Two Kinds of Spatially Separated Caffeine-Sensitive Calcium Stores in Smooth Muscle Cells From Guinea Pig Mesenteric Artery. Noradrenaline-lnduced Calcium Inflow Appears Not-Mediated by Receptor-Operated Calcium Channels in Rat Mesenteric Small Arteries. Inward Rectifier Potassium Channels in Resistance Arteries. Reduction of Delayed Rectifier K+ Current in Rat Pulmonary Artery Cells During Chronic Hypoxia. Adenosine Activates Potassium Channels in Porcine Coronary Arterial Myocytes. Hypoxia and Adenosine Inhibit Myogenic Reactivity by Activating ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channels. Theme 2: The Control of Smooth Muscle Tone. Flow-lnduced Relaxation of the Rabbit Facial Vein: Role of Endothelium and Subendothelial Tissues. Exercise Training Augments EDRF (Nitric Oxide) Synthesis in Skeletal Muscle Arterioles. Edno of Venular Origin can Influence Arteriolar Diameter. Conducted Vasomotion in Isolated Arterioles: Evidence for Multiple Cellular Mechanisms. Nitric Oxide and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide as Dual Mediators of Neurogenic Relaxation in the Sheep Middle Cerebral Artery. Theme 3: The Control of Growth and Proliferation. Vascular Remodeling in Hypertension: Its Prevalence and Possible Mechanism. K+(ATP) Channels in Neonatal Pulmonary Vessels During Normal Development and Chronic Hypoxia. The Effect of Platelet-Derived Growth Factor on Tone and [Ca2+] in Vascular Smooth Muscle. Theme IV: Techniques and Methodological Approaches for Future Research. Up/Down: A New Method for Determining Agonist Properties. A Technique for Studying Physiologically Induced Conducted Responses In-Situ. Confocal Myography: Applications for the Study of Resistance Arteries. Theme V: The Pathology of Resistance Arteries. Stroke Related Alterations in the Cerebrovasculature of spSHR Associated with the Loss of Pressure Dependent Constriction. The Vascular Ornithine Decarboxylase/Polyamine System in Deoxycorticosterone Acetate-Salt Hypertension. Small Artery Function in Streptozotocin-lnduced Diabetic Rats. Contractile Responses of Mesenteric Resistance Arteries to Bay K 8644 in Mineralocorticoid-Salt Hypertension. Does Intracellular pH Affect Vascular Tone? Effect of Antihypertensive Treatment on Structure and Function of Resistance Arteries in Essential Hypertensive Patients. Resistance Vessel Structure in Essential Hypertension. Hypercholesterolemia and Vascular Function. Effect of Chronic Ischemia on Human Small Arteries. Coronary Microvascular b-Adrenoceptor Subtypes and Crystalloid Cardioplegia.