Regulatory mechanisms of arterial structure and function in humans

我们的血管在血液进出身体所有组织的过程中扮演着重要的角色。无论是在短时期内增加或减少活动量，还是在我们进行长期生活方式改变(如开始锻炼计划)时，我们都可以显著改变流经许多血管的血液流动。血管不仅仅是输送血液的静态管道。在短短几次心跳中，我们的动脉(将血液从心脏输送出去的血管)可以扩张以增加它们的大小，并放松以减少它们的僵硬，但我们不知道到底是什么控制和影响了这些短期和长期的变化。在我的实验室里，我们的长期目标是了解运动和运动训练在改变动脉结构和功能方面所起的作用。例如，我们现在知道，一次锻炼可以暂时限制或增强某些动脉的扩张。看来，运动的效果取决于我们休息时动脉功能的好坏，男性和女性的情况可能有所不同。我们有兴趣跟进我们的一些初步研究，这些研究考察了运动训练和单一运动阶段，还有一些研究确定了控制我们观察到的变化的确切因素。我们还想使用一些新的、令人兴奋的超声波方法来直接观察动脉壁以及肌肉和皮肤内的血液流动。这项赠款申请的两个主要目的是确定动脉壁上的机械应力在调节动脉结构和功能方面所发挥的作用，以及确定这些作用是否在男性和女性之间有所不同，并受到生物性激素的影响。为了做到这一点，我们设计了一些研究，既增加了年轻健康男性和女性动脉中的血流量，又观察了对这些血流量增加的反应，以确定控制因素。我们的继续研究将侧重于在科学实验中使用尖端技术，鼓励在多样化和包容性的环境中发展和培训下一代加拿大科学家。从这些研究中获得的信息将有助于推进目前关于血管如何在人体内调节的基本知识。

Our blood vessels play an important role in transporting blood to, and from, all of the tissues of our body. We can dramatically change the blood flow through many of our blood vessels when we increase, or decrease, our activity both for brief periods and when we make longer term lifestyle changes such as embarking on an exercise training program. Blood vessels are not just static tubes for transporting blood. In just a few heartbeats our arteries (the blood vessels that move blood away from our heart) can dilate to increase their size, and relax to reduce their stiffness, yet we do not know exactly what controls and influences these short- and long-term changes. In my laboratory, our long-term goal is to understand the role that exercise, and exercise training, plays in altering arterial structure and function. We now know, for example, that a single exercise session can either temporarily limit or enhance the dilation of some arteries. It seems that the effects of exercise are dependent on how well an artery can function when we are at rest and may be different in males and females. We are interested in following up some of our initial studies that examined both exercise training and single exercise sessions, with some studies to determine the precise factors that control the changes we have observed. We also want use some new and exciting ultrasound methods to look directly at the walls of the arteries and at the blood flow inside muscles and skin. The two main aims of this grant application are to determine the roles that mechanical stress on the wall of the artery plays in regulating the structure and function of the artery and to determine if these roles are different between males and females and influenced by biological sex hormones. To do this we have designed some studies to both increase blood flow in arteries in young healthy males and females, and look at the responses to those increases in blood flow in order to determine control factors. Our continuing studies will focus on the use of cutting-edge technology in scientific experiments that encourage the development and training of the next generation of Canadian scientists in a diverse and inclusive environment. The information gained from these studies will assist in advancing the current basic knowledge of the how blood vessels are regulated in the human body.