Biomedical subjects

C A Porret

Publications and source records attributed to C A Porret.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

In vitro diameter response of rat femoral artery to flow in the presence and absence of endothelium.

We have examined the diameter response of rat femoral artery segments in the presence and absence of endothelium to changes in flow rate. The segments were isolated, mounted on microcannulae, maintained at 37 degrees C, and perfused at 90 mmHg with Tyrode's solution. The external arterial diameter was measured using video-microscopy. The mean control diameter was 741+/-22 microm (mean+/-SEM,n=7). The arteries were preconstricted to 75+/-1% of the control diameter with a superfusion of 1 microM norepinephrine (NE). Endothelial function was verified by perfusion of 1 micro;M acetylcholine (ACh). Two different flow protocols were employed: step changes in flow (n=7) and low-frequency sinusoidal flow changes (0.01Hz 0.05). Sinusoidal flow oscillations resulted in sinusoidal diameter oscillations, whose amplitude and phase lag were inversely proportional to the frequency of the flow oscillations. A first-order low-pass filter, with a time constant of 28+/-3 and 30+/-5s for arteries with and without functional endothelium, respectively, was used to describe the relation between oscillatory flow and diameter. The response of the rat femoral arteries to changes in flow was not found to be different whether the endothelium was intact or removed.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1998

Arterial vasomotion: effect of flow and evidence of nonlinear dynamics.

Vasomotion has been studied on segments of rat mesenteric and femoral arteries perfused in vitro. We have investigated 1) the effect of perfusion flow on the characteristics of vasomotion and 2) the nature and patterns of vasomotion. We have found that perfusion flow is not a control parameter that contributes to the genesis of vasomotion but that it affects, in most cases only slightly, the frequency and amplitude of vasomotion. We have found evidence that vasomotion is low-dimensional chaotic. The correlation dimension ranged between 2 and 4, and the average Lyapunov's coefficient was approximately 0.1. A great variety of vasomotion patterns was observed with features that are typical of nonlinear deterministic systems: regular and irregular vasomotion, quasiperiodicity, period doubling and higher-order periods, intermittency, mixed modes, and bursting activity. Vasomotion patterns appeared occasionally to be highly sensitive to perturbations in perfusion flow, which also supported the existence of nonlinear dynamics. Finally, entrainment (phase locking) was observed when arteries were perfused with oscillatory flow with frequency in the neighborhood of the frequency of vasomotion.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Simultaneous ipsilateral and contralateral measurements of vasomotion in conduit arteries of human upper limbs.

We investigated the patterns of vasomotion in various conduit arteries of the human arm. The internal diameter of the brachial, radial, ulnar, and digital artery was measured noninvasively in 17 healthy volunteers (aged 24-40 yr), using a high-precision ultrasonic echotracking device. Under resting conditions, the radial, ulnar, and digital internal diameter exhibited spontaneous oscillations (vasomotion) with a relative amplitude ranging from 1 to 5% of the mean diameter and a fundamental frequency ranging from 0.01 to 0.05 Hz. This oscillatory behavior was either quasi-periodic or irregular. The low-frequency mode (f < or = 0.05 Hz) present in the diameter signal was identified neither in the heart rate nor in the blood pressure signal. To determine whether the oscillatory activity was propagative, simultaneous measurements of diameter at two sites on the right radial artery were performed and revealed no significant consistent phase shift. Ipsilateral radial and ulnar diameters, measured at the wrist level, exhibited similar and synchronous vasomotion patterns, despite differences in the amplitude. For all subjects, contralateral measurements, performed at two symmetrical sites of the radial arteries, showed similar oscillatory patterns with a strong correlation (0.85 < r < 0.99, n = 12). These results suggested the existence of a global regulatory mechanism that coordinates vasomotion in the large conduit arteries of the human arm.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Flow-diameter phase shift. A potential indicator of conduit artery function.

This study assesses (1) the relation of the very-low-frequency vasomotion (< 0.02 Hz) of the radial artery of young healthy volunteers to regional blood flow and (2) its distribution in the upper extremities. Radial artery diameters from comparable sites were measured on contralateral extremities in 18 young healthy volunteers by an echo tracking system simultaneously with blood flow velocity determined by continuous wave Doppler and blood pressure acquired by photoplethysmography in the middle finger. A synchronous global pattern of vasomotion was detected on contralateral radial arteries, suggesting the presence of either a centrally located pacemaker or a humoral system. Modulation of sympathovagal balance in 8 subjects did not significantly alter either the frequency or amplitude of the very-low-frequency vasomotor waves. Matching patterns of diameter and flow oscillations of the very-low-frequency type recorded at the same site were obtained in 10 strictly nonsmoking volunteers for given periods of time. A consistent phase lag was observed between flow and diameter signals. Flow always preceded the diameter fluctuations by a mean (+/- SEM) course of 20.8 +/- 1.56 seconds. Although the physiological basis for oscillatory behavior remains for the moment highly speculative, these results suggest that the very-low-frequency vasomotion pattern in this conduit vessel might be a flow- or shear stress-dependent phenomenon. Shear stress changes at the endothelium modulate vascular tone through the release of vasodilators. The noninvasive assessment of the diameter-flow relation may thus offer a new way of addressing vascular wall function in medium-sized and large arteries in subjects with cardiovascular risk factors.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Flow-driven diameter response in rat femoral arteries perfused in vitro.

The effects of flow and flow changes on arterial diameter were investigated in vitro on isolated rat femoral arteries. Segments of femoral arteries were excised, mounted on microcannulas, and perfused with Tyrode's solution (37 degrees C). Perfusion pressure was kept constant at 90 mm Hg. The mean external diameter after equilibration at a transmural pressure of 90 mm Hg was 720 +/- 50 microm (n = 12). Vessels were then constricted with norepinephrine (1 microM in the superfusion solution) to 77% +/- 13% of the resting diameter; acetylcholine was used to check endothelial function. The external diameter was measured continuously using video microscopy. The arteries were subjected to two different types of flow variations: (a) step changes in flow (increase and decrease, n = 6) and (b) low-frequency sinusoidal flow variations (frequencies ranging from 0.002 to 0.1 Hz, n = 11). Flow ranged from 0 to 800 microl/min (shear stress ranging from 0 to 15 dyn/cm2). All measured vessels constricted as flow increased. Flow steps induced exponential-like contractions (flow increase) or relaxations (flow decrease) with mean characteristic time constants 31 +/- 4 and 22 +/- 2 s, respectively. Sinusoidal flow oscillations induced sinusoidal diameter oscillations with a time delay. An increase in the frequency of the flow led to a decrease of both the amplitude of the flow-induced diameter oscillations and the phase shift between flow and diameter. The dynamic diameter response to flow changes could be characterized by a first-order low-pass filter with a time constant of 22 s.

Animals↗