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Microelectrode penetration of the wall of porcine retinal arterioles in vitro results in recordings from several cell types
Author(s) -
Kudryavtseva O.,
Aalkjaer C.,
Bek T.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2017.0f069
Subject(s) - retina , retinal , microelectrode , pericyte , membrane potential , biophysics , anatomy , depolarization , electrophysiology , nernst equation , chemistry , biology , neuroscience , in vitro , endothelial stem cell , biochemistry , electrode
Purpose A novel population of perivascular cells ( PVC ) is located immediately external to the vascular smooth muscle cells of retinal arterioles, express immunoreactivity to the pericyte marker NG 2 and give rise to processes that extend into the retina. This suggests that PVC s could play a role in neurovascular coupling. However, the anatomical basis for the connection of PVC processes to the surrounding retina has not been characterized in detail. The aim of the present study was to establish a method for electrophysiological characterization of cells in the perivascular retina for the study of neurovascular coupling. Methods First order porcine retinal arterioles with preserved perivascular retinal tissue were mounted in a wire myograph. A glass microelectrode ( WPI , USA ) with a tip resistance of 30 ‐ 100 MO hm filled with 3M KC l solution was inserted into cells in the perivascular retina using an electronic micromanipulator. The microelectrode was connected to an amplifier (Electrometer 773 Duo, WPI , USA ) and the intracellular membrane potential was recorded at resting conditions and after addition of 40mM KC l or solvent. Results Recordings from thirty perivascular retinal cells from eight arterioles showed membrane potentials ranging from ‐100 to ‐40 mV (mean ‐68± 3 mV ). The most frequent membrane potential was ‐80 mV (30% of the cells). 40mM KC l produced a significant depolarization of the cells of 13 ± 3 mV (p=0.03, n=10), whereas solvent induced no significant change in the membrane potential (p=0.6, n=10). Conclusions Cells in the retinal arteriolar wall can be penetrated with microelectrodes for measurement of the membrane potential. The recordings suggest the existence of multiple cell types with distinct membrane potentials. The anatomical basis for these different cell types should be characterized further by intracellular dye injection.