Chapters authored
The Endothelium: The Vascular Information Exchange
Maintenance of adequate blood flow to tissues and organs requires that endothelial cells dynamically respond in a stimulus-specific manner to elicit appropriate changes in smooth muscle contractility and thus, arterial diameter. Endothelial cells can be stimulated directly by increases in blood flow and by humoral factors acting on surface receptors, as well as through flux of second messengers from smooth muscle cells activated by release of neurotransmitters from perivascular nerves. The ability of endothelial cells to generate stimulus-specific responses to these diverse inputs is facilitated by organization of ion channels and signaling proteins into microdomains that permit finely-tuned, spatially-restricted Ca2+ events to differentially activate key effectors such as nitric oxide (NO) synthase and Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa) channels. NO is a diffusible mediator which acts locally to cause vasodilation. Opening of KCa channels causes hyperpolarization of the endothelial membrane potential which spreads to surrounding smooth muscle cells to also cause local vasodilation. However, once initiated, hyperpolarization also spreads longitudinally through the endothelium to effect coordinated changes in blood flow within multiple arterial segments. Thus, the signaling pathways activated by a particular stimulus determine whether it’s effects on arterial diameter are localized or can impact blood flow at the level of the vascular bed.
Part of the book: Calcium and Signal Transduction