Cerebrovascular muscle cultures. I. Isolation, growth and morphological characterization.

This study describes the development and establishment of pure cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells derived from dissociated cells of microvessels obtained from brains of rats. The cultured and propagated vascular smooth muscle cells display histochemical and ultrastructural characteristics of smooth muscle cells consistent with those reported in cultures of peripheral vessels. Thus, the cerebrovascular smooth muscle cultures provide a new model system for the investigation of their function, particularly in relation to the regulation of cerebral blood flow and blood pressure.