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Vibration injury damages arterial endothelial cells
Author(s) -
Curry Brian D.,
Bain James L.W.,
Yan JiGeng,
Zhang Lin Ling,
Yamaguchi Mark,
Matloub Hani S.,
Riley Danny A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.10058
Subject(s) - vasoconstriction , endothelium , medicine , vasodilation , immunostaining , pathology , anatomy , microcirculation , perfusion , chemistry , immunohistochemistry
Prolonged exposure to hand‐transmitted vibration can cause debilitating neural and vascular dysfunction in humans. It is unclear whether the pathophysiology involves simultaneous or sequential injury of arteries and nerves. The mechanism of vibration injury was investigated in a rat tail model, containing arteries and nerves structurally similar to those in the human hand. Tails were selectively vibrated for 1 or 9 days with the remainder of the animal at rest. One vibration bout of 4 h/day, 60 H Z , 5 g (49 m/s 2 ) acceleration, injured endothelial cells. Injury was signaled by elevated immunostaining for NFATc3 transcription factor. Electron microscopy revealed that vibration for 9 days produced loss and thinning of endothelial cells, with activated platelets coating the exposed subendothelial tissue. Endothelial cells and arterial smooth muscle cells contained double membrane–limited, swollen processes indicative of vasoconstriction‐induced damage. Laser doppler surface recording demonstrated that 5 min of vibration significantly diminished tissue blood perfusion. These findings indicate that early injury involves vasoconstriction and denuding of the arterial endothelium. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 25: 000–000, 2002