Piezo1 integration of vascular architecture with physiological force.

The mechanisms by which physical forces regulate endothelial cells to determine the complexities of vascular structure and function are enigmatic. Studies of sensory neurons have suggested Piezo proteins as subunits of Ca(2+)-permeable non-selective cationic channels for detection of noxious mechanical impact. Here we show Piezo1 (Fam38a) channels as sensors of frictional force (shear stress) and determinants of vascular structure in both development and adult physiology.

Oxidative transformation of paxilline in sheep bile.

1. 14C-Paxilline incubated in bile from pasture-fed sheep was efficiently transformed to a more polar dioxygenated derivative in which the indole 2,3 double-bond had opened to give an 8-membered ring. The structure is proposed on the basis of mass spectrometry and 1H- and 13C-n.