AUTHOR=Cardinal Trevor R., Struthers Kyle R., Kesler Thomas J., Yocum Matthew D., Kurjiaka David T., Hoying James B. TITLE=Chronic Hindlimb Ischemia Impairs Functional Vasodilation and Vascular Reactivity in Mouse Feed Arteries JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=2 YEAR=2011 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2011.00091 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2011.00091 ISSN=1664-042X ABSTRACT=
Vasodilation of lower leg arterioles is impaired in animal models of chronic peripheral ischemia. In addition to arterioles, feed arteries are a critical component of the vascular resistance network, accounting for as much as 50% of the pressure drop across the arterial circulation. Despite the critical importance of feed arteries in blood flow control, the impact of ischemia on feed artery vascular reactivity is unknown. At 14 days following unilateral resection of the femoral–saphenous artery–vein pair, functional vasodilation of the profunda femoris artery was severely impaired, 11 ± 9 versus 152 ± 22%. Although endothelial and smooth muscle-dependent vasodilation were both impaired in ischemic arteries compared to control arteries (Ach: 40 ± 14 versus 81 ± 11%, SNP: 43 ± 12 versus and 85 ± 11%), the responses to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were similar, implicating impaired smooth muscle-dependent vasodilation. Conversely, vasoconstriction responses to norepinephrine were not different between ischemic and control arteries, −68 ± 3 versus −66 ± 3%, indicating that smooth muscle cells were functional following the ischemic insult. Finally, maximal dilation responses to acetylcholine,