Figure 7:

Vessel reactivity was assessed for mice exposed to filtered air, EPFR lo or EPFR hi. A) Once vessels were constricted to 80% of their maximum contraction using phenylephrine (PE), increasing doses of acetylcholine (ACh) were administered to the bath and the resulting relaxation recorded. Mice exposed to EPFR hi, but not EPFR lo, demonstrated a significant impairment in relaxation at the highest three doses of ACh compared to mice exposed to filtered air only (n=13–16, p<0.05). B) Vascular responses to increasing doses of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) after constriction with PE were also assessed to confirm that the alterations in maximum relaxation were endothelium-dependent and not smooth muscle dependent. No significant changes in relaxation in response to SNP were noted between any of the three groups (n=13–16). **Indicates p<0.01, ***indicates p<0.001