Lab Objectives

Microvascular dynamics determine the difference between healthy tissue and numerous pathological states. As the major site of resistance in the arterial system, arteriolar vascular smooth muscle tone changes vessel radius to maintain proper blood flow to the distal tissue under transient conditions. Chronic changes in hydrodynamics, in turn, result in vascular growth and remodeling throughout the microvascular network. Additionally, blood vessels are coupled with the interstitium. Microvascular vasomotion interacts with the lymphatic system, affecting the regulation of extracellular fluid. Further, as the main site for leukocyte entrance into the tissue and uptake and transport to lymph nodes, the microvasculature and subsequent lymphatic transport are essential to proper immune response.

Overall, the microvascular forms a nexus of interacting subsystems, which present a number of opportunities to relate tissue structure and bio-control mechanisms. Our interests are centered among the following areas:

Our Animal Model For our studies, we needed an animal model that allows us to examine the microvasculature in great detail in its natural state. We therefore have developed the sole, extant, chronic colony of Pallid bats dedicated to cardiovascular science. The thin, non-pigmented, nearly translucent wing membranes provide several advantages for viewing the microvasculature: In Vivo observation, allows study of interacting subsystems Minimally-invasive, minimizes trauma and inflammation Non-terminal, allows multiple measurements for chronic studies Unanaesthetized, avoids confounding effects of anesthesia Two-dimensional, amenable to mathematical modeling

Techniques For our studies, we had to develop several techniques for monitoring and manipulating the microvascular network. Imaging: Whole wing BATScan Navigated Micro-architecture Mapping Regional Micro-architecture Scanning Microscopic Video Recordings Data Collection: Vascular Diameter Tracking Pressure Measurement Blood Velocity Measurement Manipulation: Blood Pressure Vascular Occlusion Wing and Body Temperature LIght Stimulation

Collaboration

Like all laboratories, our knowledge is limited by the people who are actively working in the lab. Therefore, we are constantly seeking out collaborative projects to expand our knowledge base in a mutually beneficial fashion. Our lab is particularly interested in establishing links between fellow microvascular research laboratories, whereby we can tailor the experiments to fit both of our needs.

We strongly encourage any interested parties to contact us via: