scholarly journals Leukocyte interleukins induce cultured endothelial cells to produce a highly organized, glycosaminoglycan-rich pericellular matrix.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 1706-1715 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Montesano ◽  
A Mossaz ◽  
J E Ryser ◽  
L Orci ◽  
P Vassalli

We report here that interleukins have a dramatic effect on extracellular matrix production by cultured endothelial cells. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells incubated with growth media conditioned by lectin-activated human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes undergo marked changes in cell shape and elaborate a highly organized extracellular material that is not detectable in untreated cultures. This material has the following characteristics: (a) it is not recognizable by electron microscopy unless the cationic dye, Alcian blue, is added to the fixative; (b) it is visualized as a network of branching and anastomosing fibrils of various thickness that can be resolved into bundles of fine filaments; (c) it is associated with the cell surface, extends between contiguous cells, and coats the culture substrate; (d) it is removed by digestion with glycosaminoglycan-degrading enzymes, such as crude heparinase and chondroitinase ABC. These results demonstrate that soluble factors released by activated peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes (interleukins) stimulate cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells to produce a highly structured pericellular matrix containing glycosaminoglycans (probably chondroitin sulfate and/or hyaluronic acid) as a major constituent. We speculate that this phenomenon corresponds to an early step of angiogenesis as observed in vivo as a consequence of interleukin release.

1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 1155-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Horvat ◽  
G.E. Palade

The functional thrombin receptor, normally expressed by endothelial cells and platelets, is a member of the G protein-coupled, seven membrane-spanning-domain receptor family and is thought to be responsible for most, if not all, the cell stimulatory effects of thrombin. Upon binding, thrombin cleaves the receptor's N-terminal ectodomain, unmasking a new N terminus, which by itself activates the receptor. Using antibodies to different domains of the human thrombin receptor, we have localized the receptor in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells by indirect immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. We found the receptor expressed on the plasmalemma of cultured endothelial cells in individual units rather than in clusters, at lower concentration than, and at different sites from, thrombomodulin. We also found the receptor associated with a distinct, intracellular, transferrin receptor-containing, tubulovesicular network. The thrombin receptor-positive structure spread from the perinuclear region to the periphery of the cells, exhibiting a number of varicosities interconnected by branching tubular elements, strikingly similar to an image recently described for a continuous endosomal reticulum. Our results provide morphological evidence for the presence of the functional thrombin receptor at relative low density on the surface of cultured endothelial cells (compared to thrombomodulin) and in relatively large quantities inside the cells, associated with an endosomal compartment.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (01) ◽  
pp. 157-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Yin ◽  
Ze-Wen Zhang ◽  
Wen-Jun Yu ◽  
Jing-Yuan Liao ◽  
Xin-Guo Luo ◽  
...  

Stachydrine is a major constituent of Chinese herb leonurus heterophyllus sweet, which is used in clinics to promote blood circulation and dispel blood stasis. Our study aimed to investigate the role of stachydrine in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) injury induced by anoxia-reoxygenation. Cultured HUVECs were divided randomly into control group, anoxia-reoxygenation (A/R) group and 4 A/R+stachydrine groups. HUVECs in the control group were exposed to normoxia for 5 hours, while in all A/R groups, HUVECs underwent 3 hours anoxia followed by 2 hours reoxygenation, and HUVECs in the 4 A/R+stachydrine groups were treated with 10-8 M, 10-7 M, 10-6 M and 10-5 M (final concentration) of stachydrine respectively. After anoxia-reoxygenation, tissue factor (TF) was over-expressed, cell viability and the concentrations of SOD, GSH-PX and NO were declined, while LDH, MDA and ET-1 were over-produced (p < 0.05 to 0.001 vs. the control group). However, in stachydrine treated groups, TF expression was inhibited at both mRNA and protein levels, while the declined cell viability and SOD, GSH-PX, NO as well as the enhanced LDH, MDA and ET-1 levels occurred during anoxia-reoxygenation were ameliorated and reversed effectively (p < 0.05 to 0.01 versus A/R group). Consequently, our findings indicate that TF plays an important role in the development of anoxia-reoxygenation injury of HUVECs, stachydrine ameliorates HUVECs injury induced by anoxia-reoxygenation and its putative mechanisms are related to inhibition of TF expression.


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