Fig. 2. Mechanical stimulation evoked a transient increase in [Ca²⁺]_i and induced whole-cell inward current. (A) Displacement of the FN bead (1 µm for 100 milliseconds) evoked an increase in [Ca²⁺]_i within 53 milliseconds from the start of stimulation. The red circle in the DIC image denotes the FN bead and the white dotted line shows the perimeter of the HUVEC. The black arrow indicates the direction of displacement. (B) Increase in [Ca²⁺]_i with sequential displacement of the FN bead for 0.15, 0.7 and 0.9 µm. Typical data are shown in the figure. The increase in the signal intensity by 0.5-0.7 µm displacement of FN beads was significantly larger that of 0.15-0.2 µm displacement (P<0.05; n=5).