Membrane potential and Ca2+ concentration dependence on pressure and vasoactive agents in arterial smooth muscle: A model.

ABSTRACT: Arterial smooth muscle (SM) cells respond autonomously to changes in intravascular pressure, adjusting tension to maintain vessel diameter. The values of membrane potential (Vm) and sarcoplasmic Ca(2+) concentration (Ca(in)) within minutes of a change in pressure are the results of two opposing pathways, both of which use Ca(2+) as a signal. This works because the two Ca(2+)-signaling pathways are confined to distinct microdomains in which the Ca(2+) concentrations needed to activate key channels are transiently higher than Ca(in). A mathematical model of an isolated arterial SM cell is presented that incorporates the two types of microdomains. The first type consists of junctions between cisternae of the peripheral sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), containing ryanodine receptors (RyRs), and th

SUBMITTER: Karlin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4485026 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature