No Evidence for a General Change in Contractile Responsiveness of the Mesenteric Artery With Aging

Abstract
Rings of human mesenteric artery (1–3 mm diameter) suspended in Krebs solution were contracted (maximal contraction relative to KCl 80 mM = 100%) by the thromboxane mimetic U46619 (190 ± 10%), noradrenaline (162 ± 9%), angiotensin II (107 ± 11%), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) (96 ± 10%). Reducing extracellular Ca2+ strongly inhibited the maximal contraction to angiotensin II and 5-HT and moderately inhibited the maximal contraction to noradrenaline, but had less effect on the maximal contraction to U46619 (contraction in Ca2+ 1.3 μM was reduced to 24 ± 5, 20 ± 3, 38 ± 4 and 52 ± 4% respectively of the contraction in 2.5 mM Ca2+). Reducing extracellular Ca2+ lowered sensitivity to 5HT, angiotensin II, and LJ46619, but did not alter sensitivity to noradrenaline. The EC50 and maximal contraction for each of the 4 agonists did not change with patient age at 2.5 mM Ca2+ or in reduced extracellular Ca2+. It is concluded that aging does not affect the responsiveness of mesenteric arterial smooth muscle to physiological vasoconstrictors.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: