Summary
Local transmural electrical stimulation with DC of a carotid artery by means of implanted electrodes causes subendothelial fibromuscular proliferates or atheroma (if the animal receives a cholesterolcontaining diet) beneath the anode. The endothelial lining is maintained when weak current is used for stimulation. The model permits studies of permeability of the endothelium in all stages of the plaque development. Ruthenium red as a marker for the glycocalyx is transiently taken up into the cytoplasm of the endothelial cells beneath the anode immediately after a 30 or 60 min lasting stimulation period. When staining the endothelium later than two hours after the end of an acute stimulation period, the ruthenium red staining is again normal. This indicates that the increased permeability to large molecules is reversible. Injection of the calcium entry blocker Flunarizine inhibited the cytoplasmic uptake of ruthenium red, showing that an increased entry of calcium into the endothelial cells may contribute to the disturbance in the permeability of large molecules into the endothelium.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baldwin K (1977) The fine structure of healing over in mammalian cardiac muscle. J Mol and Cell Card 9:959–966
Baldwin AL, Winlove CP (1984) Effects of perfusate composition on binding of ruthenium red and gold colloid to glycocalyx of rabbit aortic endothelium. J Histochem Cytochem 32:259–266
Betz E, Schlote W (1979) Responses of vessel walls to chronically applied electrical stimuli. Basic Res Cardiol 74:10–20
Betz E, Schlote W (1979) Experimentelle Untersuchungen zur Verschlußkrankheit extrakranieller Gefäße. Der Internist 20:510–522
Borgers M (1981) The role of calcium in the toxicity of the myocardium. Histochem J 13:839–848
Eitel W, Schmid G, Schlote W, Betz E (1980) Early arteriosclerotic changes of the carotid artery wall induced by electrostimulation. A study by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Path Res Pract 170:211–229
Gerrity RG, Naito HK, Richardson M, Schwartz CJ (1979) Dietary induced atherogenesis in swine. Amer J Pathol 95:775–785
Guyton JR, Rosenberg RD, Clowes AW, Karnovsky MJ (1980) Inhibition of rat arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation by heparin. In vivo studies with anticoagulant and nonanticoagulant heparin. Circulat Res 46:625–634
Hangen A (1979) Ruthenium red binding to cell coat in neoplastic neurogenic cell lines in culture. Virchows Arch B Cell Path 29:245–252
Kramsch DM, Aspen AJ, Rozler LJ (1981) Atherosclerosis: Prevention by agents not affecting abnormal levels of blood lipids. Science 213:1511–1512
Lindner V, Heinle H (1982) Binding properties of circulating evans blue in rabbits as determined by disk electrophoresis. Atherosclerosis 43:417–422
Luft J (1971) Ruthenium red and violet. I. Chemistry, purification, methods of use for electron microscopy and mechanism of action. Anat Rec 171:347–368
Ross R, Glomset JA (1976) The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The New Engl J Med 295:420–425
Schlote W, Boellaard JW, Betz E (1980) Experimental atherosclerosis — the animal model and its relation to the human disease. Folia Angiologica 28:76–79
Schmid G, Betz E, Schlote W (1982/83) Smooth muscle cells in experimentally induced atherosclerosis. Folia Angiologica 30/31:341–346
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by a grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bd 324/13
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Viele, D., Betz, E. Effect of the calcium entry blocker, Flunarizine, on ruthenium red uptake by endothelial cells following acute electrical stimulation of rabbit carotid arteries. Basic Res Cardiol 80, 58–65 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01906744
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01906744