Mechanical properties of porcine intralobar pulmonary arteries

The isobaric and isovolumetric properties of intrapulmonary arteries were evaluated by placing a highly compliant balloon inside arterial segments. The passive pressure-volume (P-V) curve was obtained by changing volume (0.004 ml/s) and measuring pressure. The isobaric active volume change (delta V) or isovolumetric active pressure change (delta P) generated by submaximal histamine was measured at four different transmural pressures (Ptm's) reached by balloon inflation. The maximal delta P = 11.2 +/- 0.6 cmH2O (mean +/- SE) was achieved at 30.8 +/- 1.2 cmH2O Ptm and maximal delta V = 0.20 +/- 0.02 ml at 16.7 +/- 1.7 cmH2O Ptm. The P-V relationships were similar when volume was increased after either isobaric or isovolumetric contraction. The calculated length-tension (L-T) relationship showed that the active tension curve was relatively flat and that the passive tension at the optimal length was 149 +/- 11% of maximal active tension. These data show that 1) a large elastic component operates in parallel with the smooth muscle in intralobar pulmonary arteries, and 2) the change in resistance associated with vascular expansion of the proximal arteries is independent of the type of contraction that occurs in the more distal arterial segments.     

Role of tracheal and bronchial circulation in respiratory heat exchange

Due to their anatomic configuration, the vessels supplying the central airways may be ideally suited for regulation of respiratory heat loss. We have measured blood flow to the trachea, bronchi, and lung parenchyma in 10 anesthetized supine open-chest dogs. They were hyperventilated (frequency, 40; tidal volume 30-35 ml/kg) for 30 min or 1) warm humidified air, 2) cold (-20 degrees C dry air, and 3) warm humidified air. End-tidal CO2 was kept constant by adding CO2 to the inspired ventilator line. Five minutes before the end of each period of hyperventilation, measurements of vascular pressures (pulmonary arterial, left atrial, and systemic), cardiac output (CO), arterial blood gases, and inspired, expired, and tracheal gas temperatures were made. Then, using a modification of the reference flow technique, 113Sn-, 153Gd-, and 103Ru-labeled microspheres were injected into the left atrium to make separate measurements of airway blood flow at each intervention. After the last measurements had been made, the dogs were killed and the lungs, including the trachea, were excised. Blood flow to the trachea, bronchi, and lung parenchyma was calculated. Results showed that there was no change in parenchymal blood flow, but there was an increase in tracheal and bronchial blood flow in all dogs (P less than 0.01) from 4.48 +/- 0.69 ml/min (0.22 +/- 0.01% CO) during warm air hyperventilation to 7.06 +/- 0.97 ml/min (0.37 +/- 0.05% CO) during cold air hyperventilation.     

Isovolumetric and isobaric rabbit tracheal contraction in vitro

Isovolumetric and isobaric tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) contraction were studied in vitro in a preparation of the whole rabbit trachea. Eight tracheae from New Zealand White rabbits were excised and mounted at a fixed length in an organ bath. Electrical field stimulation (EFS) was performed in isovolumetric and isobaric conditions at varying transmural pressures (TMP). Supramaximal stimulation with methacholine was done at 0 TMP. Active change in pressure (delta P) with EFS showed a peak at 3.1 +/- 1.06 cmH2O TMP during inflation and at 4.1 +/- 1.18 cmH2O TMP during deflation (mean +/- SE). Active delta P decreased at higher or lower TMP. Active change in volume with EFS showed a peak at 3.2 +/- 1.26 cmH2O TMP during inflation and at 1.8 +/- 0.98 cmH2O TMP during deflation. A decrease in response was also observed at higher and lower TMP. From these data, we concluded that TSM is at optimal length (Lmax) at TMP of 2-3 cmH2O. Maximal TSM shortening with supramaximal stimulation with methacholine was 32% Lmax. This figure is considerably smaller than the 80% shortening found in unloaded strips of TSM. We conclude that rabbit TSM length is close to Lmax at TMP similar to those found at functional residual capacity and that the loads that the muscle has to overcome probably contribute to the limited shortening observed in situ.     

Quantitative measurement of smooth muscle shortening in isolated pig trachea

Matched porcine tracheal rings were exposed to theophylline and increasing doses of carbachol in Krebs solution. Histological sections of each ring were traced and each of the following dimensions measured: the external perimeter (Pe) and external area (Ae) defined by the outer border of smooth muscle and inner surface of cartilage, and the internal perimeter (Pi) and internal area (Ai) defined by the luminal surface of the epithelium and the muscle length (L) along its outer border. Absolute wall area (WA = Ae - Ai) and relative wall area (PW = WA/Ae) were calculated. Carbachol-treated tracheal ring dimensions were compared with those of their matched theophylline-treated rings. In tracheal rings with intact cartilage, maximal smooth muscle shortening of 44% was achieved with 10(-2) M carbachol. In tracheal rings in which anterior and posterior segments of cartilage were excised, the trachealis muscle passively shortened by 20% and maximal shortening (10(-3) M carbachol) was 57%. Although Ai decreased with maximal smooth muscle shortening, there were no changes in the length of Pi or in WA. These data show that the cartilage in the porcine trachea exerts both a preload that passively stretches the trachealis muscle and an afterload that limits maximal smooth muscle shortening.     

Diaphragmatic plate electrode stimulation of the hamster diaphragm

We developed a new technique of diaphragmatic stimulation by apposing plate electrodes directly against the diaphragm (DPS) in adult Golden Syrian hamsters. The electrophysiological and the mechanical responses to DPS were compared with those with phrenic nerve stimulation. In four animals, evaluation of the electromyogram before and after curare demonstrated that plate electrode stimulation occurred via the phrenic nerve filaments. In four animals, similar transdiaphragmatic pressure was produced at maximal current with DPS and phrenic nerve stimulation. Using DPS increasing current beyond a certain level resulted in recruitment of muscles besides the diaphragm. In six animals, an external abdominal pressure of 15 cmH2O produced maximal transdiaphragmatic pressure, suggesting that the diaphragm was contracting near optimal position with this external abdominal pressure. In another four animals the twitch and pressure-frequency characteristics with the use of DPS were found to be reproducible over a 2-h period. We conclude that DPS is an effective method of diaphragmatic stimulation and should prove to be a valuable technique to study the diaphragm in long-term studies of small rodents.     

Phylogeny of Greya (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae), based on nucleotide sequence variation in mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II: congruence with morphological data

The phylogeny of Greya Busck (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae) was inferred from nucleotide sequence variation across a 765-bp region in the cytochrome oxidase I and II genes of the mitochondrial genome. Most parsimonious relationships of 25 haplotypes from 16 Greya species and two outgroup genera (Tetragma and Prodoxus) showed substantial congruence with the species relationships indicated by morphological variation. Differences between mitochondrial and morphological trees were found primarily in the positions of two species, G. variabilis and G. pectinifera, and in the branching order of the three major species groups in the genus. Conflicts between the data sets were examined by comparing levels of homoplasy in characters supporting alternative hypotheses. The phylogeny of Greya species suggests that host-plant association at the family level and larval feeding mode are conservative characters. Transition/transversion ratios estimated by reconstruction of nucleotide substitutions on the phylogeny had a range of 2.0-9.3, when different subsets of the phylogeny were used. The decline of this ratio with the increase in maximum sequence divergence among taxa indicates that transitions are masked by transversions along deeper internodes or long branches of the phylogeny. Among transitions, substitutions of A-->G and T-->C outnumbered their reciprocal substitutions by 2-6 times, presumably because of the approximately 4:1 (77%) A+T-bias in nucleotide base composition. Of all transversions, 73%-80% were A<-->T substitutions, 85% of which occurred at third positions of codons; these estimates did not decrease with an increase in maximum sequence divergence of taxa included in the analysis. The high frequency of A<-->T substitutions is either a reflection or an explanation of the 92% A+T bias at third codon positions.