Role of Dusp 5 KO on Vascular Properties of Middle Cerebral Artery in Rats

Figures

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  Figure 1.. Impacts of Dusp5 Knockout (KO) on Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell (VSMC) Content in the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) (A) Representative images illustrating the expression of α-SMA in the MCA wall of male Dusp5 KO and wild-type (WT) rats. (B) Comparison of VSMC numbers across the cross-sectional area of the MCA wall in male Dusp5 KO and WT rats. Mean values ± SEM are presented, with the numbers in parentheses indicating the number of rats and vessels studied per group (n = # rats, # vessels).

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  Figure 2.. Impacts of Dusp5 Knockout (KO) on Collagen Content in the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) (A) The average artificial unit (a. u.) of fluorescence intensity was compared across the cross-sectional area in the tunica media and adventitia of the MCA in male Dusp5 KO and wild-type (WT) rats. Estimation plots depicting fluorescence intensity in the media (B) and adventitia (C) of the MCA in Dusp5 KO and WT rats are presented. Mean values ± SEM are provided, with the numbers in parentheses indicating the number of rats and vessels studied per group (n = # rats, # vessels).

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  Figure 3.. Impacts of Dusp5 Knockout (KO) on Elastin Content in the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) In the MCA of male Dusp5 KO and wild-type (WT) rats, we compared (A) the average artificial unit (a.u.) of the autofluorescence intensity in the internal elastic lamina (IEL); (B) the IEL thickness; (C) the fenestrae numbers in the IEL; (D) the fenestrae areas in the IEL. (E, F) Representative images of the elastin autofluorescence in the IEL detected by confocal microscopy. Mean values ± SEM are presented, with the numbers in parentheses indicating the number of rats and vessels studied per group (n = # rats, # vessels). One, two, three, and four asterisks (*) indicate p < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001, and 0.0001, respectively, from the corresponding values in Dusp5 KO versus WT rats.

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  Figure 4.. Impacts of Dusp5 Knockout (KO) on Myogenic Reactivity and Tone in the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) (A) Comparison of the myogenic response of MCA of Dusp5 KO and wild-type (WT) rats in response to an elevation in perfusion pressure ranging from 40 mmHg to 180 mmHg. (B) Comparison of the passive diameters (IDs0Ca) of the MCA in Dusp5 KO and WT rats at perfusion pressure ranging from 40 mmHg to 180 mmHg. (C) Comparison of the myogenic tone of MCA of Dusp5 KO and WT rats across perfusion pressure ranging from 40 mmHg to 180 mmHg. Mean values ± SEM are presented. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of rats studied per group. One, two, three, and four asterisks (*) indicate adjust p < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001, and 0.0001, respectively, from the corresponding values in Dusp5 KO versus WT rats after the post hoc test.

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  Figure 5.. Impacts of Dusp5 Knockout (KO) on Wall Thickness, Wall-to-Lumen Ratio, and Cross-Sectional Area (CSA) of the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) (A) Comparison of the wall thickness of MCA of Dusp5 KO and wild-type (WT) rats across perfusion pressure ranging from 40 mmHg to 180 mmHg. (B) Comparison of the wall-to-lumen ratio of MCA of Dusp5 KO and WT rats. (C) Comparison of the CSA of MCA of Dusp5 KO and WT rats. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of rats studied per group. One, two, three, and four asterisks (*) indicate adjust p < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001, and 0.0001, respectively, from the corresponding values in Dusp5 KO versus WT rats after the post hoc test.

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  Figure 6.. Impacts of Dusp5 Knockout (KO) on Distensibility and Incremental Distensibility of the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) (A) Comparison of distensibility of MCA of Dusp5 KO and wild-type (WT) rats across perfusion pressure ranging from 40 mmHg to 180 mmHg. (B) Comparison of incremental distensibility of MCA of Dusp5 KO and WT rats. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of rats studied per group. One, two, three, and four asterisks (*) indicate adjust p < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001, and 0.0001, respectively, from the corresponding values in Dusp5 KO versus WT rats after the post hoc test.

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  Figure 7.. Impacts of Dusp5 Knockout (KO) on Circumferential Wall Stress, Elastic Modulus (Stress/Strain), and β Stiffness of the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) (A) Comparison of circumferential wall stress of MCA of Dusp5 KO and wild-type (WT) rats across perfusion pressure ranging from 40 mmHg to 180 mmHg. (B) Comparison of elastic Modulus (stress/strain) in MCA of Dusp5 KO and WT rats. (C) Comparison of the slopes of the elastic modulus curves (β values) in the MCA of Dusp5 KO and WT rats. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of rats studied per group. 1 mmHg = 1,334 dynes/cm2.