Intrauterine Nitric Oxide Deficiency Weakens Differentiation of Vascular Smooth Muscle in Newborn Rats.

Nitric oxide (NO) deficiency during pregnancy is a key reason for preeclampsia development. Besides its important vasomotor role, NO is shown to regulate the cell transcriptome. However, the role of NO in transcriptional regulation of developing smooth muscle has never been studied before.

Intrauterine growth restriction weakens anticontractile influence of NO in coronary arteries of adult rats.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is one of the most common pathologies of pregnancy. The cardiovascular consequences of IUGR do not disappear in adulthood and can manifest themselves in pathological alterations of vasomotor control. The hypothesis was tested that IUGR weakens anticontractile influence of NO and augments procontractile influence of Rho-kinase in arteries of adult offspring.

MAPKs Are Highly Abundant but Do Not Contribute to α-Adrenergic Contraction of Rat Saphenous Arteries in the Early Postnatal Period.

Previously, the abundance of p42/44 and p38 MAPK proteins had been shown to be higher in arteries of 1- to 2-week-old compared to 2- to 3-month-old rats. However, the role of MAPKs in vascular tone regulation in early ontogenesis remains largely unexplored. We tested the hypothesis that the contribution of p42/44 and p38 MAPKs to the contraction of peripheral arteries is higher in the early postnatal period compared to adulthood.

Remodeling of Arterial Tone Regulation in Postnatal Development: Focus on Smooth Muscle Cell Potassium Channels.

Maturation of the cardiovascular system is associated with crucial structural and functional remodeling. Thickening of the arterial wall, maturation of the sympathetic innervation, and switching of the mechanisms of arterial contraction from calcium-independent to calcium-dependent occur during postnatal development. All these processes promote an almost doubling of blood pressure from the moment of birth to reaching adulthood.

Trophic sympathetic influence weakens pro-contractile role of Cl channels in rat arteries during postnatal maturation.

Membrane transporters and their functional contribution in vasculature change during early postnatal development. Here we tested the hypothesis that the contribution of Cl channels to arterial contraction declines during early postnatal development and this decline is associated with the trophic sympathetic influence. Endothelium-denuded saphenous arteries from 1- to 2-week-old and 2- to 3-month-old male rats were used.

TASK-1 channel blockade by AVE1231 increases vasocontractile responses and BP in 1- to 2-week-old but not adult rats.

Background And Purpose: The vasomotor role of K2P potassium channels during early postnatal development has never been investigated. We tested the hypothesis that TASK-1 channel (K2P family member) contribution to arterial vascular tone and BP is higher in the early postnatal period than in adulthood.

Experimental Approach: We studied 10- to 15-day-old ("young") and 2- to 3-month-old ("adult") male rats performing digital PCR (dPCR) (using endothelium-intact saphenous arteries), isometric myography, sharp microelectrode technique, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blotting (using endothelium-denuded saphenous arteries), and arterial pressure measurements under urethane anaesthesia.

Changes of brain DTI in healthy human subjects after 520 days isolation and confinement on a simulated mission to Mars.

Introduction: Long-term confinement is known to be a stressful experience with multiple psycho-physiological effects. In the MARS500 project, a real-time simulation of a space-flight to Mars conducted in a hermetically isolated habitat, effects of long-term confinement could be investigated in a unique manner. The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of long-term-confinement on brain cytoarchitecture.

ANGULAR DEPENDENCE OF TRACK-ETCH DETECTOR HARZLAS TD-1.

Track-etched detectors are commonly used also for radiation monitoring onboard International Space Station. To be registered in track-etched detectors, the particle needs to meet several criteria-it must have linear energy transfer above the detection threshold and strike the detector's surface under an angle higher than the so-called critical angle. Linear energy transfer is then estimated from calibration curve from the etch rate ratio V that is calculated from parameters of individual tracks appearing on the detector's surface after chemical etching.

Ray-tracing simulation of the radiation dose distribution on the surface of the spherical phantom of the MATROSHKA-R experiment onboard the ISS.

Space radiation is one of the main concerns for human space flights. The prediction of the radiation dose for the actual spacecraft geometry is very important for the planning of long-duration missions. We present a numerical method for the fast calculation of the radiation dose rate during a space flight.

[Ca ] changes in sympathetic varicosities and Schwann cells in rat mesenteric arteries-Relation to noradrenaline release and contraction.

Aim: This study aimed to assess intracellular Ca dynamics in nerve cells and Schwann cells in isolated rat resistance arteries and determine how these dynamics modify noradrenaline release from the nerves and consequent force development.

Methods: Ca in nerves was assessed with confocal imaging, noradrenaline release with amperometry and artery tone with wire myography. Ca in axons was assessed after loading with Oregon Green 488 BAPTA-1 dextran.

Changes in Endothelial Nitric Oxide Production in Systemic Vessels during Early Ontogenesis-A Key Mechanism for the Perinatal Adaptation of the Circulatory System.

Nitric oxide (NO) produced in the wall of blood vessels is necessary for the regulation of vascular tone to ensure an adequate blood supply of organs and tissues. In this review, we present evidence that the functioning of endothelial NO-synthase (eNOS) changes considerably during postnatal maturation. Alterations in NO-ergic vasoregulation in early ontogeny vary between vascular beds and correlate with the functional reorganization of a particular organ.

Phase synchronization of baroreflex oscillations of blood pressure and pulse interval in rats: the effects of cardiac autonomic blockade and gradual blood loss.

Objective: Phase synchronization of arterial pressure (AP) and pulse interval (PI) oscillations in the low-frequency band (around 0.4 Hz in rats) is governed by baroreflex activity. In long-term stationary data recordings, such synchronization can be estimated by the coherence.

Urine proteome changes associated with autonomic regulation of heart rate in cosmonauts.

Background: The strategy of adaptation of the human body in microgravity is largely associated with the plasticity of cardiovascular system regulatory mechanisms. During long-term space flights the changes in the stroke volume of the heart are observed, the heart rate decreases, the phase structure of cardiac cycle is readjusted The purpose of this work was to clarify urine proteome changes associated with the initial condition of the heart rate autonomic regulation mechanisms in cosmonauts who have participated in long space missions. Urine proteome of each cosmonaut was analyzed before and after space flight, depending on the initial parameters characterizing the regulatory mechanisms of the cardiovascular system.

LED lighting optimization as applied to a vitamin space plant growth facility.

An algorithm of determining optimal LED lighting parameters for leafy crops (Chinese cabbage Brassica chinensis L. was taken as a model) in a vitamin space Plant Growth Facility is proposed. The lighting parameters to optimize were the level of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), red and white LEDs PPFD ratio and pulse repetition period with a fixed pulse length 30 µs.

Pro-contractile role of chloride in arterial smooth muscle: Postnatal decline potentially governed by sympathetic nerves.

New Findings: What is the topic of this review? This symposium report discusses the previously unrecognized pro-contractile role of chloride ions in rat arteries at early stages of postnatal development. What advances does it highlight? It highlights the postnatal decline in the contribution of chloride ions to regulation of arterial contractile responses and potential trophic role of sympathetic nerves in these developmental alterations.

Abstract: Chloride ions are important for smooth muscle contraction in adult vasculature.

Negative feedback regulation of vasocontraction by potassium channels in 10- to 15-day-old rats: Dominating role of K 7 channels.

Aim: Potassium channels are key regulators of smooth muscle membrane potential and arterial tone. However, the roles of potassium channels in vascular tone regulation in the systemic circulation during early postnatal development are poorly understood. Therefore, this study tested the hypothesis that the negative feedback regulation of vasocontraction by potassium channels changes during maturation.

Eight Days of Earth Reambulation Worsen Bone Loss Induced by 1-Month Spaceflight in the Major Weight-Bearing Ankle Bones of Mature Mice.

Spaceflight induces bone alterations with site-specific rates of bone loss according to the weight-bearing function of the bone. For the first time, this study aimed to characterize bone microarchitecture and density alterations of three ankle bones (calcaneus, navicular, and talus) of mice after spaceflight and to evaluate the impact of 8 days of Earth reambulation. Ten C57BL/6N male 4-month-old mice flew on the Bion-M1 biosatellite for 1 month; half were euthanized within 24-h of return and half after 8-days recovery on Earth.

Antenatal/early postnatal hypothyroidism increases the contribution of Rho-kinase to contractile responses of mesenteric and skeletal muscle arteries in adult rats.

Background: Maternal thyroid deficiency can increase Rho-kinase procontractile influence in arteries of 2-week-old progeny. Here we hypothesized that augmented role of Rho-kinase persists in arteries from adult progeny of hypothyroid rats.

Methods: Dams were treated with 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) in drinking water (0.

Reflex erection in the rat: reciprocal interplay between hemodynamic and somatic events.

Background: Penile erection is a complex reflex under spinal control and modulated by the brain. The hemodynamic events under autonomic control and the perineal muscles somatic activity are interconnected during the reflex erection at the spinal level, however if the afferent feedback on the corpus cavernosum pressure during an erection affects the somatic activity (perineal muscles contractions) and vice versa is not known. This study was aimed to test this hypothesis using a rat model.

Higher Ca -sensitivity of arterial contraction in 1-week-old rats is due to a greater Rho-kinase activity.

Aim: During early post-natal development, arterial contraction depends less on Ca -signalling pathways but more on changes in Ca -sensitivity compared to adult animals. Whether this difference is related to Rho-kinase, one of the major players affecting Ca -sensitivity, is unknown for intact vessels. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that Rho-kinase critically contributes to the higher Ca -sensitivity of contraction in intact arteries of 1-week-old rats.

Voluntary exercise training restores anticontractile effect of NO in coronary arteries of adult rats with antenatal/early postnatal hypothyroidism.

Introduction: Our recent study showed that NO-mediated anticontractile effect of endothelium is absent in coronary arteries of adult rats, which suffered from antenatal/early postnatal hypothyroidism. This study tested the hypothesis that exercise training would improve such detrimental consequences of early thyroid deficiency.

Design And Methods: Wistar dams received propylthiouracil (PTU, 7 ppm) in drinking water during gestation and two weeks postpartum; control dams received tap water.

Expression of focal adhesion genes in mesenchymal stem cells under simulated microgravity.

The expression of 84 focal adhesion genes of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSCs) after 96-h microgravity simulation at 3D clinorotation was studied. The upregulation of ITGA6, ITGA7, BCAR1, GRB2, CAV1, and DIAPH1 and the downregulation of ITGA11, ITGAV, ITGB1, PTEN, PTK2 (FAK), ARHGAP5, DOCK1, ROCK2, and AKT3 was found. These changes at the transcriptional level may be a cause of the reduction of the osteogenic potential of MMSCs and their ability to migration and adhesion in microgravity.

[Analysis of Urine Proteome in Patients With Postinfarction Cardiosclerosis Combined With Hypertensive Disease for Assessing Endothelial Dysfunction].

In our study urine protein composition of 18 healthy volunteers was compared with that of 18 patients with ischemic heart disease and concomitant hypertension. Liquid chromatography-mass-spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of the second fraction of morning urine was carried out using nano-line high performance liquid chromatograph and hybrid mass spectrometer. The analysis revealed 23 proteins expressed in the endothelium, according to the information contained in the database Bgee, and 49 proteins, with direct functional link with the processes in the endothelium in the reconstruction of associative networks using ANDSystem program.