Introduction: Most of the blood vessels are surrounded by perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) which could regulate vascular functions. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) released by PVAT could regulate vascular tone depending on which PGE2 receptors (EP) are expressed by the vessel (vasocontriction via EP1 / EP3, vasodilatation via EP2 / EP4 receptors). During vascular pathologies associated with inflammat...

Purinergic signalling is important both in short-term control of vascular tone and in longer-term control of cell proliferation, migration and death involved in vascular remodelling. There is dual control of vascular tone by ATP released from perivascular nerves and by ATP released from endothelial cells in response to changes in blood flow (shear stress) and hypoxia. Both ATP and its breakdown...

Historically, the vasodilatory prostanoids, especially prostacyclin and prostaglandin E(2), are believed to contribute significantly to the regulation of normal vascular tone and blood pressure (BP), primarily by counteracting the prevailing effects of the systemic vasoconstrictor systems, including angiotensin II, the catecholamines, and vasopressin. In contrast, the primary vasoconstrictor pr...

1 Purinergic signalling is involved both in short-term control of vascular tone and in longer-term control of cell proliferation, migration and death involved in vascular remodelling. 2 There is dual control of vascular tone by adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) released from perivascular nerves and by ATP released from endothelial cells in response to changes in blood flow (shear stress) and hypo...

A growing number of studies support an important contribution of astrocytes to neurovascular coupling, i.e., the phenomenon by which variations in neuronal activity trigger localized changes in blood flow that serve to match the metabolic demands of neurons. However, since both constriction and dilations have been observed in brain parenchymal arterioles upon astrocyte stimulation, the specific...