Figure 3
Smooth muscle cell and endothelial function of the basilar artery. (A,B) To determine smooth muscle cell function, basilar artery segments were constricted with U46619 and KPSS. The contractile force generated in response to these compounds was lowest in untreated SHR. Both treatment with amlodipine and atenolol significantly increased the contractile force, and nearly restored this to the level of WKY. (C) The effective pressure equivalent to the contraction with KPSS was significantly lower in untreated SHR when compared to WKY and treated SHR. (D,E) Endothelial function was determined by assessing the concentration-dependent relaxation to bradykinin and methacholine. (D) Control SHR showed an impaired relaxation to bradykinin, while WKY, amlodipine and atenolol treated SHR demonstrate a comparable relaxation. (E) In response to methacholine, treated animals showed a reduced relaxation when compared to WKY and untreated SHR. n = 12 for WKY Ctrl and SHR Amlo, and n = 11 for SHR Ctrl and SHR Aten. ***p ≤ 0.001, **p ≤ 0.01, *p ≤ 0.05 (A–C one-way RM ANOVA with Bonferroni correction, D–E two-way RM ANOVA with Bonferroni correction).
