| Project/Area Number |
05454146
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
General pharmacology
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
IINO Masamitsu The University of Tokyo, Fac.of Med., Lecturer, 医学部(医), 講師 (50133939)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1993 – 1994
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 1994)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥6,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1994: ¥1,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000)
Fiscal Year 1993: ¥4,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,500,000)
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| Keywords | Vascular smooth muscle / Calcium ion / Blood pressure / Sympathetic nerve / Confocal microscope / カルシウムイオン |
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| Research Abstract |
We studied the sympathetic control of vascular smooth muscle cells and obtained results that make the conventional view to be reconsidered. Using a confocal microscopy, we succeeded in visualizing [Ca^<2+>]_i change in individual smooth muscle cells in situ within the wall of rat tail artery in response to perivascular sympathtetic nerve network activities. Unlike the previous expectation that each smooth muscle cell respond with a constant [Ca^<2+>]_i rise to constant sympathetic stimulation, individual cells are shown to respond in intermittent rises in [Ca^<2+>]_i (Ca^<2+> oscillations). As the phases of Ca^<2+> oscillations differ from cell to cell, the average of many cells appear as if a constant response. Therefore, previous measurements failed to detect the oscillations. Furthermore, each oscillation propagated at a velocity of about 20 mum/s within the cell as Ca^<2+> wave due to release of Ca^<2+> from internal stores. Our results therefore demonstrate that intracellular Ca^<2+> stores play important roles in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle contraction. We have also shown clearly that Ca^<2+> oscillations are important in the regulation of cell functions.
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