Differential contractile response of cultured microvascular pericytes to vasoactive agents

OBJECTIVE: Microvascular pericytes may contract in two different ways: In the first, a circumferential or radial mechanical force applied at right angles to the long axis of the vessel may constrict the underlying vessel affecting blood flow and transmural pressure. Retraction and elongation of pericyte processes may also occur tangentially and at right angles to the vessel axis and alter microvessel permeability by changing the amount of ablumenal surface covered or the openness of interendothelial junctions. In this study, cultured pericytes were utilized as a model experimental system to determine if vasoactive stimulation changes their shape in a manner consistent with this hypothesis. METHODS: Pericytes cultured from isolated rate capillaries were subjected to angiotensin II and histamine. Their response was monitored by measuring the area of non-yielding substrate covered by the pericytes and the manner in which their shape changed. Shape changes were quantified by calculating the surface area: perimeter perimeter ratios. RESULTS: Histamine significantly reduced surface area covered and the surface area:perimeter ratio. The pericyte processes retracted, resulting in elongated, spindle-shaped cells. These effects were nullified by the H1 blocker diphenhydramine suggesting a receptor-specific response. Angiotensin II also elicited contraction and reduced surface area, but the cells contracted laterally and longitudinally. The surface area: perimeter ratios also decreased. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that pericytes are capable of two types of contractile responses in culture, depending on the specific vasoactive stimulus.