Vascular function in chronic end-organ damage : pharmacological characterization of vasomotor function in systemic vasculature

Regulation of vascular function of a given vascular bed is the result of the interplay between vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and locally produced endothelial signals. Both clinical and experimental studies showed that chronic organ dysfunction deteriorates vascular function. Therefore, chronic end-organ failure is no longer regarded as an isolated organ injury, but rather a progressive condition associated with vascular changes at the level of endothelium and/or VSMC. Thus, the term vascular dysfunction covers both changes in endothelial and VSMC function as a result of disease processes. The present thesis aims to investigate the role of local and systemic vascular adaptation both in terms of relaxation and contraction as a determinant of end-organ damage severity in chronic renal and cardiac disease.

The studies described in Part 1 of this thesis focus on the endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation function in animal models of chronic renal and cardiac disease. Whereas endothelium dependent relaxation function in chronic diseases has been studied commonly as a measure of vascular function, limited information on the contractile properties of vessels is available. One of the key features of VSMC contractile dysfunction may be hidden in the contribution of the epidermal growth factor receptor herein, in particular through its transactivation by various G-protein coupled receptors. Therefore, we also focused on vascular contractile function in our studies which are presented in Part 2.

	Titel en inhoud
	Hoofdstuk 1
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	Samenvatting in het Engels
	Samenvatting in het Nederlands
	Samenvatting in het Turks
	Dankwoord
	Curriculum vitae
	Literatuuropgaven
	Compleet proefschrift

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