Stretch-dependent (myogenic) tone in rabbit ear resistance arteries

Rabbit ear resistance arteries are vessels with three to six layers of smooth muscle cells and an unstretched lumen diameter of 75-150 micron. Ring segments of these arteries, in response to mechanical stretch in vitro, developed a maintained tonic contraction. The stretch-dependent contraction achieved a plateau within 10-30 min. Smooth muscle relaxants, such as NaNO2 and papaverine, substitution of extracellular Ca2+ by subthreshold Ca2+ (25 microM), or exposure to the Ca2+ influx antagonist Mn2+ abolished the stretch-dependent tone. The extent of the tone was dependent on the level of the applied stretch and the extracellular Ca2+ concentration ( [Ca2+]o). The maximal tone developed at optimal stretch, and [Ca2+]o in the bath solution was 18.1 +/- 4.6% of the maximal contraction of the vessel to histamine. This level of tone is comparable to neurogenic tone developed in response to nerve stimulation within the physiological frequency range. The stretch-dependent tone is considered probably myogenic in origin, since it was present in arterial segments that had been chronically denervated by surgical sympathectomy, mechanically deprived of the endothelium, and multireceptor blocked (phenoxybenzamine, 10(-6) M). Our findings suggest first that the stretch-dependent tone is myogenic and may be similar to basal vascular tone arising from the stretch of arterial pressure and its changes in vivo. Second, the magnitude of myogenic tone is a function of the applied stretch and the [Ca2+]o. Finally, myogenic tone is important in the physiological regulation of arterial tone in the rabbit ear resistance arteries.