An In Vitro Toxicity Assay for Human Endothelial Cells

1988 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-41
Author(s):  
Rosella Sbarbati ◽  
Maria Luisa Schinetti ◽  
Maria Scarlattini

Cultured human endothelial cells can replace living animals in studying the toxic role of noxious agents in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases and in the elucidation of the mechanism of action of protective drugs. Preliminary data are presented which examine the effects that oxidative stress produces on human endothelial cells in vitro. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were subjected to an anoxia-re-oxygenation treatment and tested for the production of Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD)-inhibitable superoxide radicals. The results show that under our experimental conditions endothelial cells produce oxygen-free radicals and that the generation reaches a maximum after an anoxic challenge of 20 minutes. We conclude that the in vitro system presented in this paper could be a suitable tool for further studies on the effects of oxidative stress on the vascular endothelium, which mimics the in vivo conditions of re-perfusion after heart ischemia.

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (05) ◽  
pp. 0975-0980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Gálvez ◽  
Goretti Gómez-Ortiz ◽  
Maribel Díaz-Ricart ◽  
Ginés Escolar ◽  
Rogelio González-Sarmiento ◽  
...  

SummaryThe effect of desmopressin (DDAVP) on thrombogenicity, expression of tissue factor and procoagulant activity (PCA) of extracellular matrix (ECM) generated by human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultures (HUVEC), was studied under different experimental conditions. HUVEC were incubated with DDAVP (1, 5 and 30 ng/ml) and then detached from their ECM. The reactivity towards platelets of this ECM was tested in a perfusion system. Coverslips covered with DD A VP-treated ECMs were inserted in a parallel-plate chamber and exposed to normal blood anticoagulated with low molecular weight heparin (Fragmin®, 20 U/ml). Perfusions were run for 5 min at a shear rate of 800 s1. Deposition of platelets on ECMs was significantly increased with respect to control ECMs when DDAVP was used at 5 and 30 ng/ml (p <0.05 and p <0.01 respectively). The increase in platelet deposition was prevented by incubation of ECMs with an antibody against human tissue factor prior to perfusion. Immunofluorescence studies positively detected tissue factor antigen on DDAVP derived ECMs. A chromogenic assay performed under standardized conditions revealed a statistically significant increase in the procoagulant activity of the ECMs produced by ECs incubated with 30 ng/ml DDAVP (p <0.01 vs. control samples). Northern blot analysis revealed increased levels of tissue factor mRNA in extracts from ECs exposed to DDAVP. Our data indicate that DDAVP in vitro enhances platelet adhesion to the ECMs through increased expression of tissue factor. A similar increase in the expression of tissue factor might contribute to the in vivo hemostatic effect of DDAVP.


Author(s):  
Susan Gallogly ◽  
Takeshi Fujisawa ◽  
John D. Hung ◽  
Mairi Brittan ◽  
Elizabeth M. Skinner ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Endothelial dysfunction is central to the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome. The study of diseased endothelium is very challenging due to inherent difficulties in isolating endothelial cells from the coronary vascular bed. We sought to isolate and characterise coronary endothelial cells from patients undergoing thrombectomy for myocardial infarction to develop a patient-specific in vitro model of endothelial dysfunction. Methods In a prospective cohort study, 49 patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with thrombus aspiration. Specimens were cultured, and coronary endothelial outgrowth (CEO) cells were isolated. CEO cells, endothelial cells isolated from peripheral blood, explanted coronary arteries, and umbilical veins were phenotyped and assessed functionally in vitro and in vivo. Results CEO cells were obtained from 27/37 (73%) atherothrombotic specimens and gave rise to cells with cobblestone morphology expressing CD146 (94 ± 6%), CD31 (87 ± 14%), and von Willebrand factor (100 ± 1%). Proliferation of CEO cells was impaired compared to both coronary artery and umbilical vein endothelial cells (population doubling time, 2.5 ± 1.0 versus 1.6 ± 0.3 and 1.2 ± 0.3 days, respectively). Cell migration was also reduced compared to umbilical vein endothelial cells (29 ± 20% versus 85±19%). Importantly, unlike control endothelial cells, dysfunctional CEO cells did not incorporate into new vessels or promote angiogenesis in vivo. Conclusions CEO cells can be reliably isolated and cultured from thrombectomy specimens in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Compared to controls, patient-derived coronary endothelial cells had impaired capacity to proliferate, migrate, and contribute to angiogenesis. CEO cells could be used to identify novel therapeutic targets to enhance endothelial function and prevent acute coronary syndromes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing-Shang Wang ◽  
Ye Huang ◽  
Shuping Zhang ◽  
Hui-Jun Yin ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
...  

Hyperglycemia fluctuation is associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) complications when compared to persistent hyperglycemia. Previous studies have shown that paeoniflorin (PF), through its antiapoptosis, anti-inflammation, and antithrombotic properties, effectively protects against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. However, the mechanism underlying the protection from PF against vascular injuries induced by hyperglycemia fluctuations remains poorly understood. Herein, we investigated the potential protective role of PF on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) subjected to intermittent glucose levels in vitro and in DM rats with fluctuating hyperglycemia in vivo. A remarkable increased apoptosis associated with elevated inflammation, increased oxidative stress, and high protein level of PKCβ1 was induced in HUVECs by intermittently changing glucose for 8 days, and PF recovered those detrimental changes. LY333531, a potent PKCβ1 inhibitor, and metformin manifested similar effects. Additionally, in DM rats with fluctuating hyperglycemia, PF protected against vascular damage as what has been observed in vitro. Taken together, PF attenuates the vascular injury induced by fluctuant hyperglycemia through oxidative stress inhibition, inflammatory reaction reduction, and PKCβ1 protein level repression, suggesting its perspective clinical usage.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (11) ◽  
pp. 4180-4187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Simona Aguzzi ◽  
Claudia Giampietri ◽  
Francesco De Marchis ◽  
Fabrizio Padula ◽  
Roberto Gaeta ◽  
...  

Abstract Peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif inhibit cell adhesion and exhibit a variety of other biologic effects including anticoagulant and antimetastatic activities. The aim of the present study was to examine the anchorage-independent effects of an RGD-containing peptide, Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS), on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Assays were performed on HUVECs seeded onto collagen IV; under these experimental conditions RGDS did not exert antiadhesive effects but significantly reduced FGF-2-dependent chemotaxis after 4 hours of treatment and reduced proliferation after 24 hours of treatment. Experiments carried out with caspase-specific inhibitors indicated that the observed antichemotactic effects required caspase 8 and caspase 9 activation. RGDS activated both caspase 8 and caspase 9 after 4 hours of treatment and caspase 3 after 24 hours of treatment, and markedly enhanced HUVEC apoptosis by transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL)/Hoechst staining and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis. Finally, confocal microscopy showed that RGDS localizes in the cytoplasm of live HUVECs within 4 hours and in vitro experiments showed that RGDS directly interacts with recombinant caspases 8 and 9 in a specific way. In summary, these results indicate that RGDS directly binds and activates caspases 8 and 9, inhibits chemotaxis, and induces apoptosis of HUVECs with a mechanism independent from its antiadhesive effect.


RSC Advances ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (40) ◽  
pp. 22921-22930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kongpeng Lv ◽  
Qin Ren ◽  
Xingyan Zhang ◽  
Keda Zhang ◽  
Jia Fei ◽  
...  

Pro-angiogenic activity of astilbin on endothelial cells in vitro and zebrafish in vivo.


1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
K M Spiegel ◽  
S F Mohammad ◽  
H Y K Chuang ◽  
R G Mason

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were grown on several artificial matrices including collagen and on unmodified plastic dishes. Freeze thaw preparations of confluent monolayer endothelial cell cultures were assayed for PGI2-like activity by testing for inhibition of platelet a88regation. The cells grown on a collagen matrix expressed slightly less PGI2-like activity initially compared to the cells grown on plastic. When the PGI2like activity of the cell lysates was examined over a period of three hours after the initial preparation, endothelial cells grown on a collagen matrix exhibited a more rapid loss of activity. Preliminary quantitative evaluations suggest that lysates derived from cells grown on unmodified plastic retained 75% PGI2 like activity at 15 min, at which point collagen grown cells exhibited essentially no PGI2-like activity. Furthermore, as shown in the figure, under identical experimental conditions, cell lysates obtained from endothelial cells grown on unmodified plastic continued to express approximately 50% of the initial PGI2-like activity after one hour. Since addition of purified PGI2 or cell lysates in vitro to the collagen coating used as tissue culture substrate failed to cause any significant loss of platelet aggregation inhibitory activity beyond the normal rate of decay of PGI2 it appears likely that the reduction of PGI2-like activity may be associated with changes in the substrate collagen, possibly effected by the endothelial cell layer. Alternatively, the reduction of activity may be related to differences in the endothelial cells caused by growth on the collagen substrate.


Blood ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Slungaard ◽  
Jose A. Fernandez ◽  
John H. Griffin ◽  
Nigel S. Key ◽  
Janel R. Long ◽  
...  

Abstract Platelet factor 4 (PF4), an abundant platelet α-granule protein, accelerates in vitro generation of activated protein C (APC) by soluble thrombin/thrombomodulin (TM) complexes up to 25-fold. To test the hypothesis that PF4 similarly stimulates endothelium-associated TM, we assessed the influence of human PF4 on thrombin-dependent APC generation by cultured endothelial monolayers. APC generated in the presence of 1 to 100 μg PF4 was up to 5-fold higher than baseline for human umbilical vein endothelial cells, 10-fold higher for microvascular endothelial cells, and unaltered for blood outgrowth endothelial cells. In an in vivo model, cynomolgus monkeys (n = 6, each serving as its own control) were infused with either PF4 (7.5 mg/kg) or vehicle buffer, then with human thrombin (1.0 μg/kg/min) for 10 minutes. Circulating APC levels (baseline 3 ng/mL) peaked at 10 minutes, when PF4-treated and vehicle-treated animals had APC levels of 67 ± 5 ng/mL and 39 ± 2 ng/mL, respectively (P &lt; .001). The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT; baseline, 28 seconds) increased maximally by 27 ± 6 seconds in PF4-treated animals and by 9 ± 1 seconds in control animals at 30 minutes (P &lt; .001). PF4-dependent increases in circulating APC and APTT persisted more than 2-fold greater than that of control's from 10 through 120 minutes (P ≤ .04). All APTT prolongations were essentially reversed by monoclonal antibody C3, which blocks APC activity. Thus, physiologically relevant concentrations of PF4 stimulate thrombin-dependent APC generation both in vitro by cultured endothelial cells and in vivo in a primate thrombin infusion model. These findings suggest that PF4 may play a previously unsuspected physiologic role in enhancing APC generation. (Blood. 2003;102:146-151)


1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (3) ◽  
pp. H874-H879 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pietersma ◽  
N. De Jong ◽  
J. F. Koster ◽  
W. Sluiter

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of hypoxia on the adhesiveness of endothelial cells for granulocytes. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were exposed to a PO2 of 7.5 mmHg (1.0 kPa), and the adherence of granulocytes was assessed under continuous hypoxia by means of a hypoxic incubator room. After 2 h of hypoxia the adherence of granulocytes decreased to 50% of the normoxic control, which was not due to a decreased viability of the endothelial cells nor to an increased generation of the antiadhesive factors nitric oxide, prostacyclin, and adenosine. Hypoxia also had no effect on the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 or ICAM-2 on the endothelium. Although the mechanism of the action of hypoxia on the adhesiveness of endothelial cells remains unclear as yet, our data suggest that HUVEC possess a protective mechanism that prevents granulocyte adherence to endothelial cells under extreme hypoxic conditions. The decreased adherence seems paradoxical to the in vivo situation for which the increased margination of granulocytes within the vascular compartment of the ischemic tissue has been observed. However, hypoxia did not impair the potential adhesiveness of HUVEC, since stimulation of endothelial cells under hypoxic conditions with calcium ionophore or lipopolysaccharide increased the adherence of granulocytes in a similar fashion as under normoxic conditions. We therefore conclude that the increased margination of granulocytes during ischemia may be accomplished by the additional stimulation of hypoxic endothelial cells.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 2286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pi-Kai Chang ◽  
I-Chuan Yen ◽  
Wei-Cheng Tsai ◽  
Tsu-Chung Chang ◽  
Shih-Yu Lee

Rhodiola crenulata root extract (RCE) has been shown to possess protective activities against hypoxia both in vitro and in vivo. However, the effects of RCE on response to hypoxia in the endothelium remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of RCE in endothelial cells challenged with hypoxic exposure and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were pretreated with or without RCE and then exposed to hypoxia (1% O2) for 24 h. Cell viability, nitric oxide (NO) production, oxidative stress markers, as well as mechanistic readouts were studied. We found that hypoxia-induced cell death, impaired NO production, and oxidative stress. These responses were significantly attenuated by RCE treatment and were associated with the activation of AMP-activated kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 signaling pathways. In summary, we showed that RCE protected endothelial cells from hypoxic insult and suggested that R. crenulata might be useful for the prevention of hypoxia-associated vascular dysfunction.


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