Microcirculation in the upper trapezius muscle during varying levels of static contraction,fatigue and recovery in healthy women —a study using percutaneous laser-Doppler flowmetry and surface electromyography

Summary Microcirculation in the upper portion of the trapezius muscle was measured percutaneously by continuous laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) during two 10-min series of alternating 1-min periods of static contraction and rest determined electromyographically (EMG). Stepwise increased contraction was induced by keeping the arms straight and elevated at 30, 60, 90 and 135°, which was repeated with a 1-kg load carried in each hand. Thereafter, fatigue and recovery were recorded while the subject kept her arms straight and elevated at 45° carrying the 1-kg hand load as long as possible, followed by rest with arms hanging and no load. A group of 16 healthy women of different ages was studied. Signal processing was done on line using a 386 SX computer. The LDF- and root-mean-square (rms) EMG signals were normalized. Spectrum analyses of EMG mean power frequency (MPF) and median spectrum frequency were performed. The rms-EMG increased significantly with an increase in the calculated shoulder torque (r=0.75). Accumulated local fatigue was indicated by a decrease in MPF with increased shoulder angle and added load (r = –0.54). Blood flow increased with increased shoulder angle (r=0.82, with hand loadr=0.62) and with increased shoulder torque (r=0.72), and also showed a significant increase with increased EMG activity (r=0.74). The LDF showed a negative correlation to MPF (r= –0.67), with increased values when MPF was lowered. During the endurance test, a moderate increase of LDF occurred which reached its maximum during the 1st min of recovery. Then, a slow return to the base level was recorded. The ability to increase the flow in the microcirculation with increasing muscle load was not diminished with age.     

Validation and advantages of FAWSETS perfusion measurements in skeletal muscle

This work discusses the strengths, limitations and validity of a novel arterial spin labeling technique when used specifically to measure perfusion in limb skeletal muscle. The technique, flow-driven arterial water stimulation with elimination of tissue signal (FAWSETS), offers several advantages over existing arterial spin labeling techniques. The primary goal of this study was to determine the perfusion signal response to changes in net hind limb flow that were independently verifiable. The range of perfusate flow was relevant to skeletal muscle during mild to moderate exercise. Localized, single voxel measurements were acquired from a 5 mm-thick slice in the isolated perfused rat hind limb at variable net flow rates. The results show that the perfusion signal is linearly proportional to net hind limb flow with a correlation coefficient of 0.974 (p = 0.0013). FAWSETS is especially well suited for studies of skeletal muscle perfusion, where it eliminates the need to compensate for magnetization transfer and arterial transit time effects. A conceptual discussion of the basic principles underlying these advantages is presented.     

Enhanced activity of GABA receptors inhibits glutamate release induced by focal cerebral ischemia in rat striatum

Cerebral ischemia causes an excess release of glutamate, which can injure neurons. The striatum is one of the important regions vulnerable to hypoxia and ischemia. Using push–pull perfusion technique, we investigated the regulatory role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and its receptors in modifying the amount of glutamate in rat striatum with ischemia. Perfusion with exogenous GABA (1 mM) inhibited cerebral ischemia-induced glutamate release by as much as 47%. We further characterized relative roles of subtype receptors of GABA on glutamate release by using pharmacological tools. While baclofen (500 μM), a GABA_B receptor agonist, suppressed ischemia-induced glutamate release by 52%, GABA_B receptor antagonist saclofen (500 μM) failed to produce a significant increase of glutamate release. The GABA_A receptor agonist muscimol (500 μM) also reduced by 38% the release of glutamate induced by cerebral ischemia but the GABA_A receptor antagonist bicuculline (500 μM) had very little effect. The present study demonstrates that the excessive release of glutamate or the overly activated glutamate receptor, triggered by cerebral ischemia, can be down-regulated by exogenous GABA or by increased activity of GABA receptors, especially the presynaptic GABA_B receptors, which might be one of the important mechanisms to protect against striatum neuronal damage from over stimulation by excessive glutamate during ischemia.     

人体组织中血液灌注率和动脉血温度的无损测量研究

由于人体组织中存在血液对流传热和代谢产热，当皮肤表面绝热后，皮肤表面的温度将上升，体表温升值是人体组织中血液灌注率和动脉血温度的函数，根据实际测量的体表温升与时间的关系就可以测出活体组织的血液灌注率和动脉血温度。根据一维Pennes生物传热方程，推导出了体表绝热后人体组织中及皮肤表面温度分布的解析解，并对人体组织中的血液灌注率及动脉血温度进行了实验测量。由于测量过程中利用的只是皮肤表面的温度信息，无须引入外加热源，对人体组织完全不会造成损伤，亦避免了干扰人体组织的正常生理状态，整个测量系统也比较简单。     

Contribution of coronary endothelial cells to cardiac adenosine production

Experiments were performed in isolated non-working guinea pig hearts perfused according to the Langendorff technique (95% O₂, 5% CO₂), to evaluate the relative contribution of the coronary endothelium to the formation of cardiac adenosine during hypoxia, hypercapnia, and acetylcholine infusion. For this purpose the adenine-nucleotides of the coronary endothelium were prelabeled by perfusion of isolated hearts with³H-adenosine (10^–8 M) for 35 min. Changes in the relative specific radio-activity (RSA) of adenosine released into the coronary effluent perfusate were used to assess changes in the relative contribution of the coronary endothelium and cardiomyocytes to total cardiac adenosine release. Hypoxic perfusion (15% O₂) doubled coronary flow and increased total adenosine release by about two orders of magnitude and in addition, substantially increased the release of³H-adenosine. The RSA of adenosine, however, was consistently depressed. During hypercapnic acidosis (9% CO₂) the increase in coronary flow was associated with only a small and transient rise in cardiac adenosine release, and did not influence the formation of³H-adenosine. In the unpaced heart, acetylcholine (10^–7 and 2×10^–6 M) dose-dependently increased coronary flow and the release of both adenosine and³H-adenosine. Within the first minute, the RSA of adenosine was increased, but thereafter was decreased relative to control. In the paced heart, the effects of acetylcholine (2×10^–6 M) were greatly attenuated. Increasing coronary flow by bradykinin and isosorbide dinitrate or decreasing heart rate by (–)N₆-phenylisopropyl-adenosine did not significantly affect effluent perfusate concentration of adenosine or its RSA. Our findings suggest that coronary endothelium in vivo can contribute to increased cardiac adenosine release in response to hypoxia and acetylcholine but not following hypercapnic acidosis. In addition, the consistent decrease in RSA of adenosine suggests a proportionally greater increase in adenosine release from cardiomyocytes.A preliminary report of part of this work appeared in Pflügers Arch (1984) 402:R19 [Suppl]. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB 30, Kardiologie Düsseldorf     

Relationship between ischaemic time and ischaemia/reperfusion injury in isolated Langendorff‐perfused mouse hearts

Myocardial functional recovery and creatine kinase (CK) release following various periods of ischaemia were investigated in isolated mouse hearts. The hearts were perfused in the Langendorff mode with pyruvate‐containing Krebs–Hensleit (KH) buffer under a constant perfusion pressure of 80 mmHg, and were subjected to either continuous perfusion or to 5, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45 or 60 min of global ischaemia followed by 45 min of reperfusion. In hearts subjected to ischaemic periods of 5, 15 or 20 min, there was a transient reduction in the left ventricular (LV) dP/dt max during the early phase of reperfusion, while the recovery at the end of reperfusion reached a level similar to that in hearts subjected to continuous perfusion. In hearts subjected to longer ischaemic periods, i.e. 25, 30, 45 or 60 min, the decrease in the cardiac performance was more pronounced and persistent, with significantly lower recovery in LV dP/dt max and higher LV end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) at the end of reperfusion than in the non‐ischaemic hearts. There were no significant differences in the recoveries in coronary flow or in heart rate (HR) between groups. Similarly to the functional recovery, the release of CK showed a clear ischaemic length‐related increase. In conclusion, the Langendorff‐perfused isolated mouse heart could be a valuable model for studies of myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Future studies using gene‐targeted mice would add valuable knowledge to the understanding of myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury.     

Effect of intrajejunal elemental diet perfusion on local secretion of soluble CD4 and CD8

The effects of nutrients on the mucosal immune system are poorly understood. The aim of this work was to study the cellular mucosal immune response to intrajejunal perfusion of an elemental diet (ED) or a control (C) electrolyte solution by measuring jejunal secretion of soluble CD4 (sCD4) and sCD8. sCD4 and sCD8 are markers of helper/inducer and suppressor/cytotoxic regulatory functions of T cells, respectively. A four lumen tube with a proximal occluding balloon at the angle of Treitz was used for jejunal perfusion in seven healthy volunteers (mean age 23 years). The length of the test segment was 40 cm. The jejunum was successively perfused with C for 80 min and then with ED containing 21.3g/l of free amino acids and 104.2g/l of oligosaccharides for 100 min. Jejunal fluid and serum concentrations of sCD4 and sCD8 were measured and their jejunal outputs calculated. When compared with C perfusion, jejunal perfusion with the ED resulted in a significant increase of sCD8 but not sCD4 jejunal secretion rates. sCD8 jejunal values increased early after ED perfusion and stayed at roughly the same level during the perfusion. Serum concentrations of sCD4 and sCD8 were not modified during ED perfusion. These data support the hypothesis that ED suppresses the immunologic tone of the gut, which could explain its beneficial effect in the management of intestinal inflammatory disease.     

心脏灌注磁共振成像的图像配准

医学时序图像的配准是医学图像分析诊断的基础，也是图像融合等图像处理需要先行解决的问题。本研究提出了一种新的基于图像分割和相关法的算法，用于准确、快速实现心脏灌注核磁共振成像(MRI)图像的配准。该方法以图像相关系数为目标函数，利用迭代运算确定心脏图像的水平位移、垂直位移和旋转角度等参数。该算法优点在于充分考虑了心肌灌注图像的特殊性以及被测对象的身体物理运动、生理运动。结果表明，此方法能有效地对心脏灌注磁共振图像进行配准处理。     

A Simple Method for Isolation of Cardiomyocytes from Adult Rat Heart

A simple, economic, and sparing method for isolation of cardiomyocytes from adult rat heart is proposed. Ultrastructure of cardiomyocytes from suspension of freshly isolated cells was studied by light and transmission electron microscopy. The isolated cardiomyocytes were viable, had characteristic shape and size, and retained their normal structure. __________ Translated from Byulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 140, No. 9, pp. 357–360, September, 2005     

Estrogen receptor genotype modulates myocardial perfusion in young men

Most of the effects of estrogens are mediated by estrogen receptors. Vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells express estrogen receptor (ESR1) in both genders. A long genotype group of a common thymine-adenine (TA) dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in the regulatory region of this gene has previously been related to coronary artery disease. The present study examined whether coronary blood flow is affected by this genotype. A total of 49 healthy men were genotyped by PCR and divided into three groups according to median number of the ESR1 promoter TA repeat (=19), i.e., in the short allele genotype group both alleles were of fewer than 19 repeats whereas in the long allele group both alleles were 19 repeats or more. The intermediate group comprised men who had one short and one long allele. Myocardial blood flow was measured by positron emission tomography using [¹⁵O]water, performed at rest and during adenosine stimulation. Men with long alleles had lower adenosine-stimulated coronary flow than those with short alleles and those with one short and one long allelle. Our results suggest that adenosine-stimulated myocardial perfusion is lower in subjects with ESR1 long alleles than the other TA repeat genotypes.