The anatomic size of the capillary-to-fiber (C/F) interface plays an important role in O(2) flux from blood to tissue by determining the surface area available for diffusion and is maintained in relative proportion to fiber mitochondrial volume across a wide range of muscle aerobic capacity. In the present study, we examined an estimate of the anatomic size of the C/F interface [the quotient of...

BACKGROUND Blockade of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) reduces the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In rodents, it has been demonstrated that RAS blockade improved adipose tissue (AT) function and glucose homeostasis. However, the effects of long-term RAS blockade on AT function have not been investigated in humans. Therefore, we examined whether 26-wks treatment with the angiotensin I...

The role of angiotensin II (ANG II) in postnatal vasculogenesis and angiogenesis during skeletal muscle (SKM) regeneration is unknown. We examined the capacity of ANG II to stimulate capillary formation and growth during cardiotoxin-induced muscle regeneration in ACE inhibitor-treated ANG II type 1a receptor knockout (AT1a(-/-)) and C57Bl/6 control mice. Analysis of tibialis anterior (TA) cross...

Vascular system function involves complex interactions among the vascular endothelium, smooth muscle, the immune system, and the nervous system. The toxic metals cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and lead (Pb) can target the vascular system in a variety of ways, ranging from hemorrhagic injury to subtle pathogenic remodeling and metabolic changes. Acute Cd exposure results in hemorrhagic injury to th...

How the fetoplacental arterial tree grows and expands during late gestational development is largely unknown. In this study, we quantified changes in arterial branching in the fetal exchange region of the mouse placenta during late gestation, when capillarization increases rapidly. We studied two commonly used mouse strains, CD1 and C57Bl/6 (B6), at embryonic days (E)13.5, 15.5, and 17.5. B6 mi...

Ischaemia-induced skeletal muscle angiogenesis is impaired in aged compared with young mice. In humans, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA and protein following an acute exercise bout are lower in aged compared with young untrained men. We hypothesized that exercise-induced skeletal muscle angiogenesis would be attenuated in aged compared with young men. In eight aged (mean age: 64 ...

Among the various consequence arising from lung injury, hepatic fibrosis is the most severe. Decreasing the effects of hepatic fibrosis remains one of the primary therapeutic challenges in hepatology. Dysfunction of hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells is considered to be one of the initial events that occur in liver injury. Vascular endothelial growth factor signaling is involved in the progre...

Background—Adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction in obesity contributes to chronic, low-grade inflammation that predisposes to type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Recent in vitro studies suggest that AT hypoxia may induce inflammation. We hypothesized that adipose tissue blood flow (ATBF) regulates AT oxygen partial pressure (AT PO2), thereby affecting AT inflammation and insulin sen...

Three groups of male rats were submitted to an intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) program for 22 days (4 h/day, 5 days/week) in a hypobaric chamber at a simulated altitude of 5000 m. Hearts were removed at the end of the program (H group) and 20 and 40 days later (P20 and P40 groups). A control group (C) was maintained at sea-level pressure. Transverse sections from myocardium were cut and hi...