Analysis Tools
cardiovascular system
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• myography of aortic segments revealed normal vascular reactivity, with no differences in phenylephrine-induced contraction, endothelium-dependent relaxation by acetylcholine, and endothelium-independent relaxation by sodium nitroprusside relative to controls
• male mice show no differences in systolic, diastolic or mean blood pressure relative to controls
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• following ligation of the femoral artery, CD31-stained abductor muscles exhibit reduced capillary density (neovascularization) in mutant ischemic limbs relative to controls
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• in vitro, mutant aortic rings cultured in Matrigel form significantly fewer vessel sprouts and fewer branches per sprout than control rings; treatment of mutant aortic rings with the NOS substrate l-arginine restores the number of vessel sprouts to control levels, whereas d-arginine has no effect on vessel growth
• in vivo, new vessel growth is reduced in a Matrigel plug assay, as determined by the presence of dextran staining in excised plugs
• in a physiological setting, capillary density in adipose tissue is reduced both basally (on a normal diet) and after high-fat diet-induced adipose expansion
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homeostasis/metabolism
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• at 10-12 weeks of age, male mice show normal plasma levels of asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA), l-arginine, homoarginine, and symmetrical dimethylarginine levels relative to controls
• following overnight culture in Krebs buffer, mutant aortas show normal ADMA and symmetrical dimethylarginine release relative to control aortas
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