Interaction of human monocytes and endothelial cells potentiates the oxidative response to phorbol myristoyl acetate (PMA) and endotoxin in vitro

Haemophilus influenzae is a human pathogen which causes meningitis in children. Systemic H. influenzae infection is largely confined to encapsulated serotype b organisms and is a major cause of meningitis in the U.K. and elsewhere. However, the pathogenesis of the disease is still poorly understood. Studies in the infant rat model, in which intranasal challenge results in bacteraemia, have shown that H. influenzae enters submucosal tissues and disseminates to the blood stream within minutes. The rapidity of these events suggests that H. influenzae penetrates both respiratory epithelial and endothelial barriers with great efficiency. It is not known whether the bacteria penetrate via the intercellular junctions, are translocated within the cells or carried across the cellular barrier in 'trojan horse' fashion within phagocytes. In the present studies, we have challenged cultured human umbilical cord_vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with both capsulated (b+) and capsule-deficient (b-) isogenic variants of one strain of H. influenzae in order to investigate the interaction between the bacteria and HUVEC and the effect of the capsule.

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Anti-metalloproteinase-9 Activities of Selected Indonesian Zingiberaceae Rhizome Extracts in Lipopolysaccharide-induced Human Vascular Endothelial Cells In Vitro

Planta Medica ◽

10.1055/s-0031-1282610 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 77 (12) ◽

Author(s):

Y Yanti ◽

N Steven ◽

A Wiharja ◽

S Fajarianto

Keyword(s):

Endothelial Cells ◽

Vascular Endothelial Cells ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Metalloproteinase 9

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Adverse Influence of Cigarette Smoking on the Endothelium

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1649654 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 70 (04) ◽

pp. 707-711 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

Andrew D Blann ◽

Charles N McCollum

Keyword(s):

Endothelial Cells ◽

Von Willebrand Factor ◽

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Lipid Peroxides ◽

Short Exposure ◽

Acute Effects ◽

Adverse Influence ◽

Von Willebrand ◽

Willebrand Factor

SummaryThe effect of smoking on the blood vessel intima was examined by comparing indices of endothelial activity in serum from smokers with that from non-smokers. Serum from smokers contained higher levels of von Willebrand factor (p <0.01), the smoking markers cotinine (p <0.02) and thiocyanate (p <0.01), and was more cytotoxic to endothelial cells in vitro (p <0.02) than serum from non-smokers. The acute effects of smoking two unfiltered medium tar cigarettes was to briefly increase von Willebrand factor (p <0.001) and cytotoxicity of serum to endothelial cells in vitro (p <0.005), but lipid peroxides or thiocyanate were not increased by this short exposure to tobacco smoke. Although there were correlations between von Willebrand factor and smokers consumption of cigarettes (r = 0.28, p <0.02), number of years smoking (r = 0.41, p <0.001) and cotinine (r = 0.45, p <0.01), the tissue culture of endothelial cells with physiological levels of thiocyanate or nicotine suggested that these two smoking markers were not cytotoxic. They are therefore unlikely to be directly responsible for increased von Willebrand factor in the serum of smokers. We suggest that smoking exerts a deleterious influence on the endothelium and that the mechanism is complex.

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