Figure 4.
The protective effect of glibenclamide on P2X7-induced capillary cell death. (A) Capillary cell death induced during a 6-h exposure to 100 μM BzATP in the absence or presence of 0.5 μM glibenclamide; these chemicals were in either solution A or a modification of solution A lacking added calcium. Glibenclamide significantly diminished BzATP-induced cell death in solution A, but not in low calcium. Sample sizes: 15 ± 6. * p = 0.0052; ** p < 0.0001. (B) Pericyte calcium in capillaries exposed for 5 min to 100 μM BzATP without or with 0.5 μM glibenclamide. Sample sizes: 194 ± 46. *** p < 0.0001. (C) Lack of a significant effect of 0.5 μM glibenclamide or low extracellular calcium on YO-PRO-1 uptake during a 4-h exposure to 100 μM BzATP. Sample sizes: 15 ± 7. (D) Lack of a significant effect of glibenclamide (0.5 μM) or low calcium on the increase in FDCF observed during a 600-s exposure to 100 μM BzATP. Sample sizes: 36 ± 10. (E) Effect of the duration of 100 μM BzATP exposure in the absence or presence of 0.5 μM glibenclamide on capillary cell viability assayed 6 h after the onset of BzATP exposure. Sample sizes for the glibenclamide-free and glibenclamide-containing protocols were 11 ± 4 and 16 ± 7, respectively. * p = 0.0494; ** p = 0.0143, *** p < 0.0001.