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First published online February 15, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 766-772 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.007658
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Elasticity, unexpected contractility and the identification of actin and myosin in lobster arteries

J. L. Wilkens1,*, M. J. Cavey1, I. Shovkivska2, M. L. Zhang2 and H. E. D. J. ter Keurs2

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
2 Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4440 Hospital Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4N1, Canada

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: wilkens{at}ucalgary.ca)

Accepted 11 December 2007

Lobster arteries, which exhibit non-uniform elasticity when stretched, have a trilaminar organization. The inner layer is an elastic connective tissue and the outer layer is a collagenous connective tissue; the middle layer of an artery is an aggregation of cells containing microfilaments. Arterial cells possess actin, myosin and tropomyosin. Except for the dorsal abdominal artery, striated muscle cells are not evident in the walls of any of the vessels. The neurotransmitter glutamic acid and the neurohormone proctolin elicit slow circumferential contractions in all of the arteries leaving the lobster heart. Only the dorsal abdominal artery contracts when stimulated electrically. Longitudinal strips of the arteries do not respond to either drugs or electrical stimulation. Arterial contraction will have profound effects on resistance to blood flow and may be an important component of the control mechanisms regulating blood distribution.

Key words: actin, artery, cardiovascular system, lobster, microfilament, myosin, vascular resistance, Homarus americanus


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