Computer-assisted image analysis of agonist-mediated microvascular constriction response in mouse cremaster muscle

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Vascular diameter changes are critical in cardiovascular research.
• Accurate measurement of microvessels can be challenging due to movement artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an automated method for measuring blood vessel diameter in mouse cremaster muscle.
• To assess the impact of diet on vascular response to vasoconstrictors.

Main Methods:

• Implemented an automated method using correlation coefficient for rest interval selection.
• Employed analysis of variance for video image binarization and vessel wall definition.
• Measured cremaster muscle vascular diameter changes in response to histamine.

Main Results:

• The automated method, combined with analysis of variance, provided clear vessel wall definition.
• Histamine induced significant vasoconstriction in both standard diet (SD) and high-fat diet (HFD) mice.
• Vascular response to histamine was reduced in HFD mice (52.63% ± 16.27%) compared to SD mice (87.14% ± 7.44%).

Conclusions:

• Automated rest interval selection and analysis of variance are effective for evaluating small artery diameter.
• High-fat diet consumption attenuates the vasoconstrictive response to histamine in mouse cremaster muscle.
• This method can streamline experiments and advance cardiovascular research.