Electrophysiological recording methods used in vascular biology

Vascular tone can be regulated by drugs that alter the activities of membrane ionic channels located in endothelial or smooth muscle cells in the vascular wall. This review examines the methods that are available to investigate the activities and pharmacological modulation of ion channels in vascular cells. They range from classical sucrose-gap and sharp-microelectrode techniques for studies of intact vessels, to the now widely used patch-clamp techniques for voltage-clamp recording of single-channel and macroscopic currents in isolated cells. Each method is described, along with examples of applications and discussion of potential problems and limitations.