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- Title
Characterization of the Intra-renal Vasculature in Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Gene-disrupted (ANP-/-) and Wild-type (ANP+/+) Mice.
- Authors
Kwan, Kelvin S. K.; Tse, M. Yat; Pang, Stephen C.
- Abstract
PURPOSE: Studies of the ProANP gene-disrupted (ANP-/-) mouse model have established that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) plays an important role in maintaining blood pressure homeostasis. Recently, ANP-/- mice has been found to have elevated sympathetic activity in the kidney, which could have a profound impact on renal development. The aim of this study was to develop a method for examining the intra-renal vasculature of ANP-/- and wild-type (ANP+/+) mice and to determine any morphological differences between these two genotypes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fluorescent staining using antibodies targeting α-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA), immunohistochemistry, fluorescent microscopy, and a novel method of graphical morphometric analysis were used to quantify and characterize the intra-renal vasculature of ANP-/- and ANP+/+ mice. RESULTS: Preliminary results indicate a trend in which ANP-/- mice have a larger proportion of intra-renal blood vessels characterized by a smaller wall-thickness-to-lumen-diameter ratio, and in which ANP+/+ mice have a larger proportion of intra-renal blood vessels characterized by a larger wall-thickness-to-lumen-diameter ratio. DISCUSSION: The trends observed in the preliminary results for ANP-/- mice could be related to the structural development of intra-renal vasculature in the absence of ANP. CONCLUSION: It is possible to characterize blood vessels of mice kidneys using fluorescent-linked antibodies targeting a-SMA and the graphical morphometric analysis method developed in this study. Trends observed in the preliminary results provided new directions that could potentially explain the role of ANP on the morphology of the intra-renal vasculature in the ANP-/- mouse model.
- Subjects
BLOOD vessels; ATRIAL natriuretic peptides; BLOOD pressure; PEPTIDES; GENES
- Publication
UBC Medical Journal, 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2, p33
- ISSN
1920-7425
- Publication type
Abstract