Aging Impairs Endothelial Ca2+ Signaling

We know that as we age, blood vessels become less effective at getting blood where you need it, when you need it. Intracellular calcium signaling is a key step in regulation of vascular function. Could defects in calcium signaling between the endothelium and smooth muscle cells of microvessels contribute to aging-related vascular dysfunction? Listen as Guest Editor Akos Koller (New York Medical College, Valhalla, and University of Physical Education, Budapest) interviews first author Erika Boerman (University of Missouri - Columbia) and topic expert Jonathan Ledoux (Montreal Heart Institute) about an innovative Rapid Report by Boerman and colleagues. Using an intravital microvascular preparation, Boerman et al combined several innovative techniques from other laboratories, including GCamp 2 mice developed as a calcium biosensor for measuring calcium pulsars, to explore calcium signaling in holes within the internal elastic lamina between the endothelium and smooth muscle. If the number of these holes reduces with aging, is there a corresponding decreased capacity for myoendothelial calcium signaling, which then can contribute to age-related microvascular dysfunction? Listen and learn.

Erika M. Boerman, Jesse E. Everhart, Steven S. Segal Advanced age decreases local calcium signaling in endothelium of mouse mesenteric arteries in vivo Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published May 1, 2016. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00038.2016.