Abstract
Atherosclerosis is characterized by endothelial dysfunction and alterations in vascular reactivity, which can be investigated by wire myography. The method allows ex vivo monitoring of the transversal isometric tension developed by a vessel segment in response to different pathophysiological stimuli. Here we describe in detail how to use the wire myograph to evaluate endothelial function and vasoconstrictor or vasodilator properties of the vessel, as well as to identify and characterize different factors and molecular pathways that control vascular tone. We also describe how to use the wire myograph to analyze biomechanical and passive properties of vessels such as diameter and elasticity.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Erick NTP Bakker for teaching the use of the wire myograph to Lara del Campo. This work was supported by grant to M.F. from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (PI1100406) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional and Comunidad de Madrid (S2013/ABI-2783, “INSPIRA1-CM”). L.C. receives salary support from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red de Investigación Cardiovascular, RD12/0042/0028). The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and by the Pro-CNIC Foundation.
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del Campo, L., Ferrer, M. (2015). Wire Myography to Study Vascular Tone and Vascular Structure of Isolated Mouse Arteries. In: Andrés, V., Dorado, B. (eds) Methods in Mouse Atherosclerosis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1339. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2929-0_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2929-0_18
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2928-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2929-0
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