An evaluation of the metabolic interaction with myogenic vascular reactivity during blood flow autoregulation

An attempt was made to evaluate the possible metabolic interaction with myogenic vascular reactivity during autoregulation of blood flow in sympathectomized cat skeletal muscle. This was done by studying the extent to which a purely myogenic response, elicited by a standardized 2 s vascular transmural pressure impulse stimulus was altered when mean arterial inflow pressure was varied in the range from 160 down to 40 mmHg. The observations were made during the steady state blood flows encountered at the different pressure levels. The data were corrected for the effects of physical factors inherent in altered basal vascular tone and intravascular pressure with the aid of a mathematical model for purely myogenic responses. The results demonstrated a flow dependent decline in myogenic vascular reactivity during reduction of arterial pressure, even in the range where blood flow was autoregulated quite effectively. This suggested a significant metabolic interaction with myogenic reactivity, an interpretation corroborated by a similar decline in myogenic reactivity found during more defined activation of the vascular metabolic control system by graded light muscle exercise. The fact that a significant metabolic interaction was revealed even at such minute flow changes that occur in the autoregulatory range indicates a high 'gain' in the metabolic feedback interacting, directly or indirectly, with myogenic mechanisms in local vascular regulation.