Quantifying Ca2+ signaling and contraction in vascular pericytes and smooth muscle cells

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Vascular pericytes and smooth muscle cells surround many blood vessels of the body. Their primary roles include vessel stabilization and regulation of the blood flow. The high degree of heterogeneity among these cells is dictated by (1) differences in their developmental origin and (2) their location in the vascular bed. Phenotype switching contributes to this heterogeneity especially following in vitro culture. In the absence of distinguishing molecular markers, functional assays that capture their heterogeneity in vitro are needed. Spatiotemporal changes in intracellular Ca2+ levels and contraction in response to vasoconstrictors reflect the differences between vascular pericyte and smooth muscle cell. In order to capture this heterogeneity in vitro, large ensembles of cells need to be analyzed. Here we developed an automated image processing method to measure intracellular Ca2+ and contraction in large cell groups which in combination with a computational approach for integrative analysis allowed vascular pericytes and smooth muscle cells to be distinguished without knowledge of their anatomical origin.