pulmonary artery smooth muscle responses to kcl under normoxic and hypoxic conditions studied by means of a spatial network model
We study contractile responses and Ca 2+ signalization in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Experimental results indicate that the contraction responses to KCl under normoxic conditions are not affected by the contribution of gap junction blockers. On the other side, under hypoxic condition, where the contraction occurs at lower concentrations of KCl, the application of gap junction blockers suppresses the hypersensitive response. In order to provide a theoretical explanation for the observed phenomenon we develop a network model of the pulmonary artery. Our results indicate that in tissues from normoxic rats the cells are connected in an efficient network that has features of a complex network, whereas the cells in tissues from hypoxic animals form a network similar to a random geometric network. Apparently, the morphological changes of the pulmonary vasculature that are induced by hypoxic conditions also entail modifications in the topology of intercellular communication pathways.
smooth muscle cells complex network intrapulmonary arteries calcium signaling chronic hypoxia