Fig. 1.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channels are predominantly expressed in neonatal pig renal vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). A: an agarose gel image showing the expression of von Willebrand factor [endothelial cell (EC) marker], ACTA2 (SMC marker), and TRPV1–4 channels in neonatal pig interlobular arteries. B: images showing selection of a neonatal pig renal vascular SMC using a patch pipette. C: an agarose gel image indicating that individually selected SMCs expressed only ACTA2 and TRPV4 channels. D: confocal microscopy images of neonatal pig renal vascular SMCs immunostained with normal rabbit IgG (negative control) and TRPV4 antibodies. An agarose gel image (E) and bar graphs (F) summarizing mean data (n = 3) for quantitative (q)RT-PCR experiments that compared TRPV4 mRNA expression in neonatal pig renal interlobar artery SMCs vs. ECs. Scale bar = 10 µM. *P < 0.05 vs. ECs.