Microvascular responses to body tilt in cutaneous maximus muscle of conscious rats

Abstract

We investigated microvascular responses to head-up tilt (HUT) and head-down tilt (HDT) in striated muscle of conscious male rats (n = 15; body wt 163 +/- 5 g). To observe the microcirculation in the cutaneous maximus muscle, a transparent polycarbonate chamber (1.5 cm diam) was implanted aseptically into a skin fold created between the shoulders. Rats were trained to sit quietly during HUT and HDT while positioned on a horizontal microscope that rotated in the sagittal plane. At 4-5 days after surgery, arteriole and venule diameters were recorded using videomicroscopy while the rat experienced 10 min each (in random order) of HUT or HDT at 20 degrees or 40 degrees separated by 2-h rest periods. HUT had no affect on microvessel diameter; 20 degrees HDT had little affect. In response to 40 degrees HDT, "large" arterioles (88 +/- 18 microns; n = 10) constricted by 18 +/- 2% (P < 0.05) and "small" arterioles (40 +/- 17 microns; n = 7) dilated by 21 +/- 3% (P < 0.05); this difference suggests variation in mechanisms controlling arteriolar responses. Venules (45 +/- 22 microns; n = 9) exhibited a larger fluctuation in diameter (amplitude 13 +/- 5 microns) during 40 degrees HDT compared with other body positions (amplitude typically 2-3 microns), suggesting that venomotor activity may be induced with sufficient fluid shift or change in central venous pressure. These observations illustrate a viable model for studying microvascular responses to gravitational stress in conscious rats.