Abstract 663: The Effects of Hypoxia and Metabolic Inhibitors on Cellular ATP and ATP/ADP ratio in Human Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle cells

Background: Although ATP is principally considered as the body’s energy currency, it is also an important signaling molecule. As availability of oxygen is an important factor in the production of ATP, it is simply assumed that the latter is tightly regulated by the former. However, how oxygen tension over the physiological range may regulate ATP production is still unclear. Here, we address the fundamental question of whether changes in environmental oxygen tension over the physiological range result in significant changes in cellular ATP in Human Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle cells (HCASMCs). Methods: Cells were seeded 24-48 hours before cellular ATP was measured in the cell population using CellTiter-Glo® Luminescent Cell Viability Assay according to manufacturer’s instruction (n=4-6). Percent change of cellular ATP was determined and normalized to control (untreated). For the change of ATP/ADP ratio, single cells were transient transfected with Perceval or PercevalHR, fluorescent reporters of ATP/ADP r...