ABSTRACT
Mouse Cremaster Arterioles .............................................................205 10.5.3 TNFα Reduces MMEC Coupling via Cx40 .....................................206 10.5.4 Nitric Oxide Reduces MMEC Coupling via Cx37 ...........................206 10.5.5 Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Reduces MMEC Coupling via Cx40
and Synergizes with LPS ..................................................................208 10.6 Mechanisms Mediating Reduced Arteriolar Conduction in Sepsis .............209 10.7 Summary, Challenges, and Model Considerations ....................................... 210 10.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 212 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 212 References .............................................................................................................. 212
The primary role of microcirculation is to deliver nutrients and oxygen to tissues and to remove waste products. To meet the ever-changing microregional metabolic needs of various tissues in the body, feeding arterioles locally change their diameter (i.e., a vasomotor response) to alter blood Žow speciŸcally within perfusion modules (Berg et al. 1997; Delp and Laughlin 1998). Although neuronal control (e.g., sympathetic release of norepinephrine) of blood Žow contributes to this regulation (Delp and Laughlin 1998), arterioles are also able to directly respond to cellular metabolites (e.g., adenosine, ATP, H+) (Delp and Laughlin 1998). These signals may be highly localized and thus, to effectively alter blood Žow, changes in arteriolar diameter need to occur in a coordinated manner over a relatively long length of the vessel (on the order of 1 mm).
