Figure 1.

Representative fluorescence profiles of local mechanical stimulation-induced Ca²⁺ responses. Site of stimulation is marked by an asterisk on cell 1. To exclude the possibility that soluble factors released due to mechanical stimulation may induce a Ca²⁺ increase, a counter perfusion flow of the extracellular medium was applied. The direction of the flow is indicated above the fluorescence images. Time of stimulation is indicated by an arrow. (A) In A7r5 cells stimulation evoked a Ca²⁺ increase in the stimulated cell (cell 1) that failed to propagate to neighboring cells. In pSMCs (B) and 6B5N cells (C), the Ca²⁺ transient evoked in the stimulated cell propagated to neighboring cells. Scale bars, 25 μm. (D) A data summary of average peak fluorescence amplitude of the Ca²⁺ rise in neighboring cells relative to the Ca²⁺ rise in the stimulated cell.