Acute mechanoadaptation of vascular smooth muscle cells in response to continuous arteriolar vasoconstriction: implications for functional remodeling

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Abstract
SPECIFIC AIMSArteriolar vasoconstriction, sustained for as little as 4 h, has been associated with an acute functional remodeling phenomenon characterized by a delayed and incomplete relaxation of the arterioles upon removal of the vasoconstrictor stimulus. As more prolonged vasoconstrictor stimuli have been associated with remodeling of the vascular wall cellular components, we performed a series of experiments aimed at determining whether vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) undergo a change in cell shape or positional rearrangement within the vascular wall as a form of mechanoadaptation, in response to prolonged vasoconstriction. This was accomplished by characterizing changes in the 3-dimensional position and morphology of VSMC in isolated skeletal muscle arterioles during short (5 min) and prolonged (4 h) norepinephrine (NE)-induced vasoconstriction.PRINCIPAL FINDINGS1. During acute initial vasoconstriction (5 min NE exposure), VSMC within the wall of arterioles display varying degrees of shortening a...