Physiology of the vasculature 1 Flashcards
When do we need to be able to control blood flow?
Exercise- increase supply to muscles and the lungs
Digestion- GI tract needs an increased supply
Thermoregulation- vasodilation= heat loss
Examples of 2 diseases caused by artery wall dysfunction?
Atherosclerosis- initiated by dysfunctional blood vessels
Hypertension- due to blood vessel contraction going wrong
What are the layers of an arterial wall?
Endothelial layer basement membrane internal elastic lamina smooth muscle cells external elastic lamina adventitia (collagen and ECM)
What are the layers of a venous wall?
Endothelial layer
basement membrane
smooth muscle cells
adventitia
What are the main functions of the vasculature?
Supply nutrients
remove waste products
provides gas exchange
What communication occurs between VSMCs and endothelial cells?
endothelial cells produce factors which are released at the basolateral surface and act on the VSMCs
gap junctions between VSMCS- waves of calcium can cross the cells and cause coordinated contraction across the cells
some gap junctions between endothelial cells and VSMCs
What are the features of a healthy endothelium?
have a glycocalyx on the surface of the cells
continuous coating
anti-coagulant lubricant almost
prevents circulating cells from binding to adhesion molecules on the endothelial cell surface
What are the features of an activated/ dysfunctional endothelium?
shedding of the glycocalyx
monocytes binding and interacting with the endothelial cells - can migrate across into the wall
see activated endothelium at sites of disturbed blood flow
activated endothelium attracts neutrophils and monocytes
What signalling occurs in healthy endothelial cells?
N.mitters such as:
Ach, histamine, bradykinin and serotonin bind to receptors
mediates an increase in intracellular calcium
activates endothelial nitrous oxidase synthase (eNOS) to convert arginine to nitrous oxide(NO)
high shear stress also acts to increase NO
What signalling occurs in activated/ dysfunctional endothelial cells?
stimuli such as:
interleukin-1, endotoxin, thrombin and disturbed blood flow act on receptors to:
increase endothelin-1
increase ROS, VCAM-1, IL-8, COX2 activity
Which channels/proteins are involved in keeping intracellular calcium low?
calcium ATPase in the sarcoplasmic reticulum
calcium ATPase in the plasma membrane
Which channels/ proteins are involved in the activation/contraction of muscle cells?
calcium channels in plasma membrane
receptors in plasma membrane coupled to IP3 signalling
calcium channels in sarcoplasmic reticulum
calmodulin
myosin light chain kinase
(myosin phosphatase constitutively active)
What are the contractile stimuli for receptors on the plasma membrane?
Endothelin a/b prostanoids angiotensin 1 histamine noradrenaline
What are examples of calcium channels in the plasma membrane?
voltage sensitive
receptor operated- p2x
TRP channels
store-operated- ora1
What are the key components in VSMC relaxation?
cGMP
cAMP
K channels