Endothelial specific granules in the umbilical veins of the postnatal rabbit

Summary A remarkable increase in number of endothelial specific granules was observed in the rabbit umbilical veins between 2 and 5 days after birth. Electron microscopy indicated that the granules were segregated in the Golgi complex of the endothelial cells and released into the vascular lumen during the postnatal obliteration stage of this vessel.Incubation of the postnatal vessels in Ringer solution containing a histamine releasing compound induced remarkable morphological alterations of these cytoplasmic components; a reduction of their osmiophilia, swelling with a widened space separating the granular matrix from the limiting membrane, fusion to each other and expulsion of their contents into the vascular lumen, as in mast cell degranulation by this drug, were noted.High-performance liquid chromatography of the homogenized vessels demonstrated appreciable concentrations of histamine in the postnatal samples. There was a correlation between the histamine concentration and the quantity of granules in the respective postnatal samples.The present study strongly suggests that the granules are reservoirs of histamine and have an important role in the obliteration of this vessel.This work was supported in part by Grant in Aid for Scientific Research (# 448087) to S. Fujimoto from the Ministry of Education of Japan     

Alendronate suppresses tumor angiogenesis by inhibiting Rho activation of endothelial cells

We previously reported that alendronate inhibits intraperitoneal dissemination in an in vivo ovarian cancer model. Recently, nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates have been reported to have antiangiogenic activities. In this study, alendronate inhibited human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) migration and capillary-like structure formation in vitro. These inhibitory effects were associated with reduced Rho activation and suppression of the formation of actin stress fibers and focal adhesions in HUVECs. Furthermore, the inhibition by alendronate was reversed by geranylgeraniol, which abrogated the inhibition of Rho geranylgeranylation. Next, we examined the effect of alendronate on angiogenesis in disseminated ovarian tumors of athymic immunodeficient mice. Alendronate treatment reduced the intra-tumor neoangiogenesis compared with that in the non-treated mice, although tumor-derived VEGF expression was not altered. In conclusion, the in vivo anti-tumor effect of alendronate might be derived, at least in part, from its direct antiangiogenic effects on intra-tumor endothelial cells by inhibiting Rho geranylgeranylation.     

姜黄素激活AMPK抑制高糖介导的氧化应激水平升高致血管内皮功能障碍

目的:探索姜黄素对高糖介导的血管氧化应激水平的升高和血管功能的保护作用未知及相关的机制。方法:以高糖DMEM培养基复制人脐静脉内皮细胞(HUVECs)的高糖损害模型。姜黄素干预24h后以DHE荧光探针分析姜黄素对高糖介导的活性氧产生的影响;分离健康C57BL/6J小鼠胸主动脉,以高糖DMEM培养基进行体外培养制作高糖介导的血管损害模型,分析姜黄素对高糖介导的血管功能的影响。利用western blotting方法检测血管内皮细胞中p-e NOS及p-AMPK的表达水平。结果:姜黄素可显著减少高糖介导的血管内皮细胞活性氧水平,该作用在给予AMPK抑制剂后显著降低;姜黄素可显著促进高糖环境血管内皮细胞e NOS的磷酸化并可显著改善高糖环境下小鼠胸主动脉的血管内皮依赖性舒张功能。Western blotting结果表明,姜黄素可显著增加p-AMPK的表达。结论:姜黄素显著减轻高糖血管内皮细胞的氧化应激水平,改善血管内皮依赖性舒张功能,而该作用可能与其通过激活AMPK/e NOS通路有关。     

三维联合培养牙髓细胞和血管内皮祖细胞促进成牙本质向/成骨向分化

目的:探讨三维联合培养牙髓细胞(dental pulp cells, DPCs)和血管内皮祖细胞(endothelial progenitor cells, EPCs)对成牙本质向/成骨向分化的影响。方法:取单独培养DPCs及联合培养的DPCs和EPCs进行三维培养后成牙本质向/成骨向诱导,使用茜素红染色及半定量分析、RT-PCR和细胞免疫荧光检测成牙本质向/成骨向分化能力。采用SPSS 23.0统计软件对数据进行统计学分析。结果:茜素红染色显示联合培养组和单独培养组之间未见显著差异。RT-PCR和细胞免疫荧光显示成牙本质向/成骨向相关基因m RNAs和蛋白表达水平联合培养组显著高于单独培养组。结论:三维联合培养的DPCs和EPCs促进成牙本质向/成骨向分化,为牙髓再生提供可能实验依据。     

Endothelial adhesion molecule ESAM binds directly to the multidomain adaptor MAGI-1 and recruits it to cell contacts

Endothelial cell-selective adhesion molecule (ESAM) is an immunoglobulin-like transmembrane protein associated with endothelial tight junctions (TJ). Based on a yeast two-hybrid screen, we have identified the membrane-associated guanylate kinase protein MAGI-1 as an intracellular binding partner of ESAM. MAGI-1 is a multidomain adaptor protein, which binds to transmembrane, cytoskeletal, and signaling molecules, and has been localized to tight junctions in epithelial cells. MAGI-1 associates with the very C-terminal sequence of ESAM most likely through a PDZ domain-mediated interaction. The direct interaction between ESAM and MAGI-1 was confirmed by pull-down experiments. The two proteins formed stable complexes in transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, which could be immunoisolated. We found MAGI-1 to be associated with cell-cell contacts in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and in mouse endothelium, where it colocalizes with ESAM. In CHO cells, recruitment of MAGI-1 to cell contacts required the presence of ESAM. Hence, ESAM may be involved in anchoring MAGI-1 at endothelial tight junctions.     

Expression and localization of recombinant human EDG-1 receptors in Pichia pastoris

The receptor for human endothelial differentiation gene-1 protein (EDG-1) was C-terminally tagged with green fluorescent protein and expressed in the methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris. EDG-1 expression was driven by the highly inducible alcohol oxidase 1 promoter. Expression of EDG-1 recombinant protein was detected by Western blot analysis and confocal microscopy. The recombinant EDG-1 receptor protein was located in the plasma membrane. Radioligand binding assays demonstrated that the␣EDG-1 receptors expressed in Pichia pastoris␣have specific and saturation binding of ³²P-labeled sphingosine 1-phosphate.     

Establishment and characterization of conditionally immortalized endothelial cell lines from the thoracic duct and inferior vena cava of tsA58/EGFP double-transgenic rats

The basic biology of blood vascular endothelial cells has been well documented. However, little is known about that of lymphatic endothelial cells, despite their importance under normal and pathological conditions. The lack of a lymphatic endothelial cell line has hampered progress in this field. The objective of this study has been to establish and characterize lymphatic and venous endothelial cell lines derived from newly developed tsA58/EGFP transgenic rats harboring the temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 (SV40) large T-antigen and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Endothelial cells were isolated from the transgenic rats by intraluminal enzymatic digestion. The cloned cell lines were named TR-LE (temperature-sensitive rat lymphatic endothelial cells from thoracic duct) and TR-BE (temperature-sensitive rat blood-vessel endothelial cells from inferior vena cava), respectively, and cultured on fibronectin-coated dishes in HuMedia-EG2 supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum and Endothelial Mitogen at a permissive temperature, 33°C. A temperature shift to 37°C resulted in a decrease in proliferation with degradation of the large T-antigen and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. TR-LE cells expressed lymphatic endothelial markers VEGFR-3 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor), LYVE-1 (a lymphatic endothelial receptor), Prox-1 (a homeobox gene product), and podoplanin (a glomerular podocyte membrane mucoprotein), together with endothelial markers CD31, Tie-2, and VEGFR-2, whereas TR-BE cells expressed CD31, Tie-2, and VEGFR-2, but no lymphatic endothelial markers. Thus, these conditionally immortalized and EGFP-expressing lymphatic and vascular endothelial cell lines might represent an important tool for the study of endothelial cell functions in vitro.M. Matsuo and K. Koizumi contributed equally to this work. This study was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for the 21st Century COE Program and for CLUSTER (Cooperative Link of Unique Science and Technology for Economy Revitalization) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan.     

自体内皮前体细胞移植对急性心肌梗死大鼠微血管新生及心功能的影响

目的探讨外周血来源的内皮前体细胞自体移植,对大鼠急性心肌梗死后微血管新生与心功能的影响。方法抽取SD大鼠外周动脉血,应用Ficoll密度梯度离心法获取单个核细胞。应用含有VEGF和bFGF的特定培养基体外培养,得到内皮前体细胞;结扎SD大鼠冠状动脉左前降支,建立急性心肌梗死模型;然后将得到的自体内皮前体细胞植入缺血心肌局部区域。对照组动物注入细胞培养液。结果与对照组比较,细胞移植组大鼠心功能明显改善,心肌收缩力显著优于对照组;梗死心肌微血管新生更为明显。结论急性心肌梗死心肌局部移植外周血来源的自体内皮前体细胞,能够促进血管新生;对局部梗死心肌组织结构有一定的保护作用,并可在不同时点不同程度恢复心肌收缩力,显著改善心功能。     

Morphological differentiation of endothelial cells co-cultured with astrocytes on type-I or type-IV collagen

Summary In this study bovine aortic endothelial cells were co-cultured with astrocytes from fetal Wistar Kyoto rats. Endothelial cells growing on type-I collagen, development. Although some cells appeared to be mature, horseradish peroxidase penetrated within 1 min of incubation through the intercellular junctions of these endothelial elements maintained on type-I collagen. In contrast, endothelial cells on type-IV collagen, co-cultured with astrocytes, were well developed; their intercellular junctions were well established, and plasmalemmal vesicles reduced in number. As a result, horseradish peroxidase was unable to penetrate through the endothelial cells grown on type-IV collagen and co-cultured with astrocytes because of the reduced extent of the junctional and vesicular transport. These findings reveal that (1) type-IV collagen is essential for the differentiation of endothelial cells, (2) endothelial cell-astrocyte interactions occur during co-culture, and (3) endothelial permeability depends on astrocyte-produced factors, in addition to type-IV collagen.