Fig. 4.
Representative microphotographs show isolated, pressurized coronary arterioles (internal diameter: 100 μm) of the rat. Left panel shows bright field image of the arteriole, whereas fluorescent (FITC excited) images show VCAM-1–MPIO (arrowheads) adhered to the endothelial cells before (basal, shown in the middle panel) and after stimulation with TNF-α (7.25 nmol L−1 for 4-h, right panel). VCAM-1–MPIO were delivered intraluminally into the pressurized arteriole at the flow rate of 25 μL min−1 (A). Mean binding events in isolated coronary arterioles were significantly higher in TNF-α stimulated vessel than in basal tissue (B). Western immunoblots show expression of VCAM-1 and β-actin in coronary arterioles before (basal) and after stimulation with TNF-α (7.25 nmol L−1 for 4-h).