MyJournals Home  

RSS FeedsIJMS, Vol. 23, Pages 11314: Connecting Aortic Stiffness to Vascular Contraction: Does Sex Matter? (International Journal of Molecular Sciences)

 
 

25 september 2022 16:03:26

 
IJMS, Vol. 23, Pages 11314: Connecting Aortic Stiffness to Vascular Contraction: Does Sex Matter? (International Journal of Molecular Sciences)
 


This study was designed to connect aortic stiffness to vascular contraction in young male and female Wistar rats. We hypothesized that female animals display reduced intrinsic media-layer stiffness, which associates with improved vascular function. Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanoindentation analysis was used to derive stiffness (Young’s modulus) in biaxially (i.e., longitudinal and circumferential) unloaded aortic rings. Reactivity studies compatible with uniaxial loading (i.e., circumferential) were used to assess vascular responses to a selective α1 adrenergic receptor agonist in the presence or absence of extracellular calcium. Elastin and collagen levels were indirectly evaluated with fluorescence microscopy and a picrosirius red staining kit, respectively. We report that male and female Wistar rats display similar AFM-derived aortic media-layer stiffness, even though female animals withstand higher aortic intima-media thickness-to-diameter ratio than males. Female animals also present reduced phenylephrine-induced aortic force development in concentration-response and time-force curves. Specifically, we observed impaired force displacement in both parts of the contraction curve (Aphasic and Atonic) in experiments conducted with and without extracellular calcium. Additionally, collagen levels were lower in female animals without significant elastin content and fragmentation changes. In summary, sex-related functional differences in isolated aortas appear to be related to dissimilarities in the dynamics of vascular reactivity and extracellular matrix composition rather than a direct response to a shift in intrinsic media-layer stiffness.


 
107 viewsCategory: Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology
 
IJMS, Vol. 23, Pages 11310: Novel Strategies against Cancer: Dexibuprofen-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (International Journal of Molecular Sciences)
IJMS, Vol. 23, Pages 11313: Pyrolysis Kinetics and Combustion Behaviors of a High-Nitrogen Compound, 4,4′-Azobis(1,2,4-triazole) (International Journal of Molecular Sciences)
 
 
blog comments powered by Disqus


MyJournals.org
The latest issues of all your favorite science journals on one page

Username:
Password:

Register | Retrieve

Search:

Molecular Biology


Copyright © 2008 - 2024 Indigonet Services B.V.. Contact: Tim Hulsen. Read here our privacy notice.
Other websites of Indigonet Services B.V.: Nieuws Vacatures News Tweets Nachrichten