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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

In Vitro Model of Physiological and Pathological Blood Flow with Application to Investigations of Vascular Cell Remodeling
Published on: November 3, 2015
Dynamics of a three-variable nonlinear model of vasomotion: comparison of theory and experiment
D Parthimos1, R E Haddock, C E Hill
1Wales Heart Research Institute, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract:
The effects of pharmacological interventions that modulate Ca(2+) homeodynamics and membrane potential in rat isolated cerebral vessels during vasomotion (i.e., rhythmic fluctuations in arterial diameter) were simulated by a third-order system of nonlinear differential equations. Independent control variables employed in the model were [Ca(2+)] in the cytosol, [Ca(2+)] in intracellular stores, and smooth muscle membrane potential. Interactions between ryanodine- and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive intracellular Ca(2+) stores and transmembrane ion fluxes via K(+) channels, Cl(-) channels, and voltage-operated Ca(2+) channels were studied by comparing simulations of oscillatory behavior with experimental measurements of membrane potential, intracellular free [Ca(2+)] and vessel diameter during a range of pharmacological interventions. The main conclusion of the study is that a general model of vasomotion that predicts experimental data can be constructed by a low-order system that incorporates nonlinear interactions between dynamical control variables.
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