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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jul 25.
Published in final edited form as: Stroke. 2010 Oct 7;41(11):2618–2624. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.593327

Figure 2. TNFα and S1P stimulate vasoconstriction of spiral ligament capillaries.

Figure 2

Changes in the capillary diameter were measured in an ex vivo preparation of capillary beds isolated from the spiral ligament of the cochlear lateral wall. (A) Capillaries were occluded on one end, opened on the other end and the red blood cells (RBC) trapped inside were visualized by laser-scanning microscopy. The capillary lumen between the occluder and the RBC was assumed to be a cylinder of constant volume: vasoconstriction (assumed to be proportional changes in diameter and length) forces the movement of RBCs towards the open end of the capillary, providing a highly-sensitive measure of vasoconstriction magnitude. (B) TNFα (1ng/ml) stimulated capillary vasoconstriction (open circles; n=7), which could be completely blocked by JTE013 pre-treatment (1µmol/L; closed circles; n=4). (C) S1P (response to 100µmol/L shown) also stimulated capillary vasoconstriction (n=9).