Fig. 5: CO₂-induced hyperemia is altered in mice with enhanced or reduced brain EC Piezo1 activity.

a Representative consecutive images, recorded using LSCI through thinned skulls, reflect CBF responses to 10% CO₂ inhalation in a control (Piezo1^cx/cx;Slco1c1-Cre-) and a Piezo1^cx/cx;Slco1c1-Cre+ mouse. A 5-min baseline was followed by 10% CO₂ (15 min), and then CBF was allowed to recover to baseline over 10 min. b Averaged normalized CBF changes in control and Piezo1^cx/cx;Slco1c1-Cre+ mice (n = 8 mice/group). c Maximal increases in CBF in response to hypercapnia and areas under the curve over the entire recording in control and brain-EC-GOF mice (n = 8 mice/group). d Representative CBF recovery in a control and a Piezo1^cx/cx;Slco1c1-Cre+ mouse. Plateau followed by exponential decline fittings of the recovery phase and the corresponding Tau and goodness of fit (R²). Additional kinetic parameters include recovery halftime (t_1/2: time to 50% decrease), the duration required for return to baseline (time to baseline), and the recovery onset (the lag between the end of CO₂ stimulation to the beginning of decline). e Area under the curve of 5-min of recovery in control and brain-EC-GOF mice (n = 8 mice/genotype). f, g, h Averaged scatter plots of kinetic parameters (Tau, onset, time to baseline), as shown in d (n = 8 mice/genotype). (i) Averaged normalized changes in CBF in control and Piezo1^flox/flox;Slco1c1-Cre+ mice. j Change in CBF in response to CO₂ in brain-EC-knockout mice and controls (n = 8 mice/group). k Representative traces and fittings of CBF recovery in a control and a Piezo1^flox/flox;Slco1c1-Cre+ mouse. (l, m, n, o) Area under the curve of 5-min of recovery and other kinetic parameters of the recovery phase in control and Piezo1^flox/flox;Slco1c1-Cre+ mice (n = 8 each). Data in b, c, e–h, i, j, l–o are presented as mean ± SEM. All statistical tests were unpaired Student’s t test (two-sided, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01), and all error bars are SEM. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.