内皮祖细胞的体外培养

 目的 建立一个体外培养脐血来源内皮祖细胞（EPC）的培养体系。方法 脐带血经密度梯度离心获得单个核细胞,按本室已建立的培养体系细胞培养,免疫细胞化学和流式细胞术对培养7d后的细胞进行CD34、CD133、vWF、CD146及CD144鉴定。结果 接种后前5d为生长的潜伏期,细胞开始贴壁,无明显扩增。第6天平均每个视野下细胞数目为287+45;第9天细胞数为282+46;第12天开始,细胞进入对数生长期,细胞数为805+67（P<0.05）;第19天细胞继续增殖,细胞数为1115+182（P<0.05）;第23天时,细胞进入凋亡期,数量明显减少,为265+61（P<0.05）。vWF,CD146,CD144表达阳性。流式细胞术结果表明,梭形样细胞群体中,CD34阳性率为88.98%+5.15% (P<0.05),CD133阳性率为1.20%+1.44% (P<0.05)。结论 利用本实验室的培养体系成功培养出内皮祖细胞。     

血管内皮生长因子与促血管生成素1对大鼠血管内皮细胞的作用

背景：血管内皮生长因子、促血管生成素1是血管形成过程中始动并且使之持续的重要因子,研究其对血管内皮细胞的作用具有重要的意义。 目的：观察血管内皮生长因子与促血管生成素1对培养血管内皮细胞迁移与增殖能力的影响,并探讨其在血管生成方面的作用机制。 方法：在大鼠脐静脉内皮细胞内单独或联合加入血管内皮生长因子、促血管生成素1后,划痕实验和MTT检测对细胞迁移与增殖的影响,观察内皮细胞形态、活性、迁移能力。 结果与结论：划痕实验显示单独血管内皮生长因子作用时,与空白对照组细胞迁移无明显差异,单独促血管生成素1作用时,不仅不能增加细胞的迁移作用,反较空白对照组有所减弱,当血管内皮生长因子与促血管生成素1联合作用时,细胞迁移较空白对照组明显增强;MTT实验结果表明：单纯加入血管内皮生长因子或促血管生成素1,均不能起到有效促进内皮细胞增殖的作用;联合应用血管内皮生长因子及促血管生成素1可有效促进增殖。结果可见当血管内皮生长因子与促血管生成素1联合应用时,才能有效促内皮细胞迁移与增殖,发挥促血管生成作用。     

TNF signaling in vascular endothelial cells.

Vascular endothelium is a major target of actions of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Increasingly, the intracellular pathways that are activated in response to TNF have been elucidated. Many of these pathways have proven to be cell type-specific, requiring that observations made in other cell types be confirmed or ruled out in endothelial cells (EC). In this review the authors will summarize the state of the field, emphasizing studies in cultured human EC.     

Quick layer-by-layer assembly of aligned multilayers of vascular smooth muscle cells in deep microchannels

One of the main challenges in vascular tissue engineering has been mimicking the complex native three-dimensional (3D) architecture of smooth muscle cells (SMCs). In the current study, we performed layer-by-layer (LBL) seeding of SMCs in a microchanneled scaffold, with or without interleaving a thin layer of collagen type I hydrogel, toward fabricating the 3D microarchitecture. This LBL process avoids the "steric hindrance" effect observed in direct 3D culture of SMCs in collagen hydrogel. More importantly, the LBL process enables the building up of multilayers of aligned and confluent SMCs. Within each layer, the SMCs as well as the SMC F-actin and alpha-actin filaments align along the direction of the scaffold microchannels, which would potentially improve the tensile and contractile strength of the tissue engineered construct, desirable properties for an engineered vasculature. In addition, rapid two-dimensional (2D) patterning of SMCs is possible with high seeding density, which makes the LBL method feasible for fabrication of multilayered structures in a short time, rendering it useful in clinical therapeutic applications.     

脂肪源干细胞向血管内皮细胞的分化

背景：脂肪来源干细胞在体内储备丰富,体外增殖快速,具有多向分化潜能,是目前组织工程种子细胞的研究热点。近年来越来越多的研究表明脂肪干细胞在一定条件下可被诱导分化为内皮细胞,促进血管生成。 目的：观察兔脂肪干细胞体外分离培养及诱导分化为血管内皮细胞的生物学特性。 方法：取兔附睾处脂肪,采用胶原酶消化分离获得脂肪干细胞,体外培养至第3代后加入血管内皮细胞生长因子与碱性成纤维细胞生长因子联合诱导分化,对诱导前后细胞进行形态学观察、生长曲线测定、免疫组织化学染色及流式细胞仪表型检测。 结果与结论：兔脂肪干细胞生长旺盛,第3代兔脂肪干细胞呈成纤维细胞样,生长曲线呈“S”型,15代以内细胞形态未见明显变化。免疫荧光法检测Vimentin阳性,流式细胞仪检测CD44表达阳性,CD31表达阴性;诱导后细胞CD31表达阳性,CD44表达阴性。第3代兔脂肪干细胞向血管内皮细胞诱导分化21 d显微镜下呈铺路石样形态,血管内皮细胞第Ⅷ因子相关抗原染色细胞阳性,透射电镜下可见W-P小体。提示脂肪干细胞在体外可诱导分化为血管内皮细胞,可为组织工程血管提供理想的种子细胞。     

Permeation properties of a non-selective cation channel in human vascular endothelial cells

Summary Endothelial cells obtained from human umbilical chord have been studied by the patch clamp method. An ion channel is described that is activated by M concentrations of histamine and shows a slow run-down in cell-attached patches. After excision, channel activity quickly runs down to zero open probability. In symmetrical potassium concentrations (140 mM K in the bath and the pipette), the single channel conductance is 28±2 pS and the reversal potential is 0.3±0.8 mV (mean ± SEM, n=4). With 140 mM Na in the pipette, the conductance is 26±2 pS. A reversal potential of -1.5±0.9 mV (n=7) was measured. With 60 mM Ca and 70 mM Na in the pipette, 140 mM K in the bath, the reversal potential was -11±3 mV, the single channel conductance 16±3 pS (n=5). The single channel conductance in 110 mM Ca (pipette) and 140 mM K (bath) is 8±2 pS and the reversal potential is –18±6 mV (n=3). From analysis of the reversal potentials, a permeation ratio of KNaCa=10.90.2 was calculated. This ligand-gated non-selective cation channel in human endothelial cells is Ca permeable and could induce a sustained agonist mediated Ca influx.     

Three-dimensional microchannels in biodegradable polymeric films for control orientation and phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells

The poor mechanical strength and vasoactivity of current small-diameter tissue engineered blood vessels (TEBVs) remain unsolved problems. Given the plasticity of smooth muscle cells (SMCs), 1 of the main limitations of current scaffolding techniques is the difficulty in controlling SMC phenotype shifts in vitro. A synthetic phenotype allows the cells to rapidly proliferate and produce extracellular matrix (ECM), whereas a shift to contractile phenotype with organized ECM ultimately provides a functional blood vessel. In this study, 3D deep (65 microm) and wide microchannels separated by high-aspect ratio (8) microwalls were successfully ultraviolet (UV) microembossed using a liquid UV polymerizable biodegradable macromer (poly(epsilon-caprolactone-r-L-lactide-r-glycolide) diacrylate) and the in vitro guidance effects of varying channel width (40-160 microm) on SMCs were verified. The results show that SMCs cultured in the wider microchannels (80-160 microm wide) switch from fibroblast morphology and random orientation to spindle-shaped morphology, and align along the direction of the microchannel nearing confluence achieved with similar cell density to unpatterned film. Further, an enhanced expression of smooth muscle alpha-actin of SMCs grown on micropatterns was found nearing confluence, which demonstrates a phenotype shift to a more contractile phenotype. These films are flexible and can be folded into tubular and lamellar structures for tissue engineering of small-diameter TEBVs as well as other organs such as esophagus or intestine. These results suggest that these micropatterned synthetic biodegradable scaffolds may be useful for guiding SMCs to grow into functional, small-diameter vascular grafts.     

一氧化氮在VEGF介导的内皮细胞增殖与分泌效应中的作用

目的: 探讨一氧化氮在血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)介导的血管内皮细胞增殖与分泌效应中所起的作用,了解VEGF可能的作用机制。方法:将体外培养的兔主动脉内皮细胞分成对照组、VEGF处理组和VEGF+N-硝基-L-精氨酸甲酯(L-NAME)处理组,采用四氮唑盐WST-1比色法、放免法和酶联免疫双抗体夹心法分别检测吸光值及内皮素-1和Ⅷ因子辅因子水平。结果:VEGF处理组吸光值明显高于VEGF+ L-NAME处理组,且均高于对照组(P＜0.01);VEGF处理组内皮素-1和Ⅷ因子辅因子水平明显低于VEGF+L-NAME处理组,且均低于对照组(P＜0.05和P＜0.01);提示VEGF能促进内皮细胞增殖,抑制内皮细胞分泌内皮素-1和Ⅷ因子辅因子,而L-NAME能部分拮抗VEGF的上述作用。结论:一氧化氮在VEGF促进内皮细胞增殖及抑制内皮细胞分泌内皮素 -1和Ⅷ因子辅因子中起中介作用,VEGF可能部分通过一氧化氮起作用,一氧化氮是VEGF作用机制中的一个重要信号通路。     

热休克内皮细胞诱导骨髓间充质干细胞向血管内皮细胞分化

文题释义：血管内皮细胞：研究中一般称内皮细胞,通常指衬于心、血管和淋巴管内表面的单层扁平上皮,它形成血管的内壁。它们具有吞噬异物、细菌、坏死和衰老组织的功能,还参与机体免疫活动功能。 热休克：组织工程中一种细胞处理方法,将细胞置于42 ℃(也有文献报道为47 ℃)中1 h,造成热休克状态。 背景：目前关于间充质干细胞向内皮细胞分化的研究,多采用细胞因子或2种细胞共培养的方法进行诱导,热休克处理的内皮细胞诱导间充质干细胞向内皮细胞分化尚未见报道。 目的：观察热休克处理的人脐静脉内皮细胞诱导骨髓间充质干细胞向血管内皮细胞分化的能力,并探究诱导骨髓间充质干细胞形成血管的能力。 方法：将热休克处理后的人脐静脉内皮细胞与人骨髓间充质干细胞体外非接触共培养,诱导14 d后采用流式细胞仪和免疫荧光检测骨髓间充质干细胞中CD144、CD31、VEGFR2、vWF表型的表达;将诱导14 d后的骨髓间充质干细胞、未诱导的骨髓间充质干细胞移植到裸鼠皮下,14 d后取移植物做苏木精-伊红染色,观察体内血管形成能力;Matrigel成血管实验观察诱导14 d后的骨髓间充质干细胞和未诱导的骨髓间充质干细胞的体外血管生成能力。 结果与结论：①共培养后骨髓间充质干细胞形态改变,呈类似铺路石状排列,流式细胞仪及细胞免疫荧光结果显示共培养后骨髓间充质干细胞VEGFR2、CD31、CD144、vWF表达增加;②体内移植物苏木精-伊红染色显示诱导后的骨髓间充质干细胞排列较对照组规律,有成血管倾向;③体外Matrigel成血管实验显示诱导后骨髓间充质干细胞成血管能力较对照组有所增加;④结果表明,与热休克处理的人脐静脉内皮细胞共培养能促进人骨髓间充质干细胞向内皮细胞分化,内皮细胞特异性表型转化较明显,具有一定血管形成倾向。 ORCID: 0000-0003-4089-8882(曹百川) 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：干细胞;骨髓干细胞;造血干细胞;脂肪干细胞;肿瘤干细胞;胚胎干细胞;脐带脐血干细胞;干细胞诱导;干细胞分化;组织工程     

具有周向微槽结构管状血管支架制备及诱导平滑肌细胞的取向生长

背景：对小口径血管组织工程化而言,平滑肌细胞的周向排列要求彻底改变以前支架的简单多孔结构,代之以能够诱导血管平滑肌细胞三维周向取向和排列新型微观结构。 目的：观察微槽结构对平滑肌细胞体外定向诱导的影响。 方法：用静电纺丝、熔融纺丝并利用溶剂/非溶剂和热压的方式制得了具有两层管壁、外壁具有周向微沟槽结构的仿生管状血管支架,用胶原蛋白固定改性后,在其上种植人脐静脉血管平滑肌细胞。扫描电镜和荧光显微镜观察支架不同缠绕角度对平滑肌细胞定向诱导能力的影响。 结果与结论：①选择比例为5∶95的氯仿/乙醇溶液,浸润时间为5 s,可以使乳酸-羟基乙酸共聚物电纺纤维和乳 酸-ε-己内酯共聚物熔纺纤维之间形成很好的粘连,形成支架。②通过碱降解使支架表面含有羧基,以1-(二甲基胺丙基)-3-乙基碳化二亚胺为缩合剂在支架表面接枝胶原。X射线光电子能谱证实了支架表面胶原大分子的存在。③当纤维之间的编织角度为30°即网孔尺寸适当时,细胞能在支架内部和表面大面积生长。④具有两层管壁结构的仿生管状血管支架具有良好的细胞相容性,其表面周向微槽结构对平滑肌细胞的取向排列具有明显的诱导作用。提示在电纺层外面再熔纺缠绕降解聚合物是制备管状仿生血管支架的可行方法。血管平滑肌细胞能沿着纤维暨微沟槽方向一致取向排列。     

Mechanisms of the palmitoylcarnitine-induced response in vascular endothelial cells

The mechanisms of Ca2+ mobilization induced by palmitoylcarnitine (Palcar) in rabbit aortic endothelial cells (ETCs) were examined using electrophysiological techniques. The results obtained were compared with those induced by acetylcholine (ACh). When a rabbit aortic muscle preparation with an intact endothelium was treated with 10 microM Palcar, the ACh-induced relaxation was markedly attenuated, whereas endothelium-independent relaxation caused by sodium nitroprusside was not affected. Under perforated-patch whole-cell-clamp conditions, the application of Palcar over the concentration range 0.3 and 10 microM elicited a slowly activating outward current (IPalcar-out), whereas ACh induced a rapidly activating outward current (IACh). A potassium channel blocker, 4-aminopyridine, significantly inhibited both IPalcar-out and IACh. Removal of external Ca2+ almost abolished IPalcar-out. Under the same conditions, however, IACh remained transient. Addition of cation channel blockers SK&F96365 and La3+ inhibited IPalcar-out more effectively than IACh. Application of staurosporine, an inhibitor of protein kinase C, affected neither IACh nor IPalcar-out. In contrast, treatment of ETCs with pertussis toxin (PTX) reduced IACh and almost abolished IPalcar-out. These findings demonstrate that, in ETCs, Palcar induces Ca2+ influx via the activation of PTX-sensitive GTP-binding protein, leading to the activation of Ca(2+)-dependent K+ current and hyperpolarization of the cell.     

The role of vascular endothelial cells in transplantation.

The interface between an allograft and the recipient's immune system is the endothelium of the allograft vasculature. In this boundary position, endothelial cells may play important roles in the afferent and efferent phases of allograft rejection, in the response of the allograft to pretransplant perfusion and to drug therapy, and in the response to viral infection of the host. The expression by endothelial cells of granule membrane protein-140 (GMP-140) and endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1), increased tissue factor activity, increased secretion of plasminogen activator inhibitor, and decreased thrombomodulin may all contribute to hyperacute rejection. Similarly, endothelial cells may actively participate in acute cellular rejection and in the development of transplant-associated arteriopathy as a result of induction of antigen-presenting function (ie, HLA class II expression), upregulation of adhesion molecules for lymphocytes and monocytes, and release of platelet-derived growth factors. Endothelial cell functions, which are important for normal inflammatory responses and vessel behavior, may be pathogenic in the allograft.     

Paracrine mechanisms of endothelial progenitor cells in vascular repair

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in repairing damaged blood vessels and promoting neovascularization. However, the specific mechanism of EPCs promoting vascular repair is still unclear. Currently, there are two different views on the repair of damaged vessels by EPCs, one is that EPCs can directly differentiate into endothelial cells (ECs) and integrate into injured vessels, the other is that EPCs act on cells and blood vessels by releasing paracrine substances. But more evidence now supports the latter. Therefore, the paracrine mechanisms of EPCs are worth further study. This review describes the substances secreted by EPCs, some applications based on paracrine effects of EPCs, and the studies of paracrine mechanisms in cardiovascular diseases--all of these are to support the view that EPCs repair blood vessels through paracrine effects rather than integrating directly into damaged vessels.     

The role of vascular endothelial cells in tumor metastasis

Vascular endothelial cells (VECs) are an integral component of the inner lining of blood vessels, and their functions are essential for the proper functioning of the vascular system. The tight junctions formed by VECs act as a significant barrier to the intravasation and extravasation of tumor cells (TCs). In addition to that, the proliferation, activation, and migration of VECs play a vital role in the growth of new blood vessels, a process known as tumor angiogenesis, which is closely related to the malignant progression of tumors. However, during tumor progression, VECs undergo endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), which further promotes tumor progression. Furthermore, VECs act as the first line of defense against effector immune cells and help prevent immune cells from infiltrating into tumor tissues. VECs also secrete various cytokines that can contribute to regulating the stemness of tumor stem cells. Thus, it has been increasingly recognized that dysfunction of VECs is one of the key driving forces behind tumor metastasis, and therapeutic strategies targeting VECs have the potential to be an effective means of antitumor therapy. This review aims to present a comprehensive overview of the role and mechanisms of VECs in regulating tumor progression and metastasis, providing insights into the possibilities for the development of novel antitumor therapies that target VECs.     

Patient-derived endothelial progenitor cells improve vascular graft patency in a rodent model

Late outgrowth endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) derived from the peripheral blood of patients with significant coronary artery disease were sodded into the lumens of small diameter expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular grafts. Grafts (1 mm inner diameter) were denucleated and sodded either with native EPCs or with EPCs transfected with an adenoviral vector containing the gene for human thrombomodulin (EPC + AdTM). EPC + AdTM was shown to increase the in vitro rate of graft activated protein C (APC) production 4-fold over grafts sodded with untransfected EPCs (p < 0.05). Unsodded control and EPC-sodded and EPC + AdTM-sodded grafts were implanted bilaterally into the femoral arteries of athymic rats for 7 or 28 days. Unsodded control grafts, both with and without denucleation treatment, each exhibited 7 day patency rates of 25%. Unsodded grafts showed extensive thrombosis and were not tested for patency over 28 days. In contrast, grafts sodded with untransfected EPCs or EPC + AdTM both had 7 day patency rates of 88-89% and 28 day patency rates of 75-88%. Intimal hyperplasia was observed near both the proximal and distal anastomoses in all sodded graft conditions but did not appear to be the primary occlusive failure event. This in vivo study suggests autologous EPCs derived from the peripheral blood of patients with coronary artery disease may improve the performance of synthetic vascular grafts, although no differences were observed between untransfected EPCs and TM transfected EPCs.     

Circulating endothelial cells: realities and promises in vascular disorders

Endothelial contribution to human vascular disorders is difficult to investigate, owing to the paucity of non-invasive methods and of specific endothelial markers .Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) might be used asa surrogate non-invasive marker for the study of vascular alterations. To address this problem, we produced an antibody against the endothelial molecule CD126 (S-Endol) and developed, in the nineties, an original and sensitive immunomagnetic separation assay. Using this approach, we demonstrated elevated number of CECs in clinical diseases linked with vascular injury like heart catheterization, sickle cell anemia,bacterial infection, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura or acute coronary syndromes. CECs correspond to very rare cells present in blood since levels in the range of 3 cells/ml are detectable in these pathologies.Several clinical interest of CECs will be discussed including their relevance as marker of disease activity, severity or treatment efficacy, or their use in diagnostic tests. The origin of endothelial cells in peripheral blood is difficult to establish. They could correspond to endothelial cells dislodged from the vessels in response to injury. It was subsequently shown that a subset of CECs comprised a population of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitors that participate in angiogenesis. Identification of the origin and characteristics of CECs provides fascinating insights into endothelial cell pathophysiology. Moreover, CECs constitute original and promising tools for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of vascular disorders.