During inflammation, leukocytes leave the circulation and cross the endothelium to fight invading pathogens in underlying tissues. This process is known as leukocyte transendothelial migration. Two routes for leukocytes to cross the endothelial monolayer have been described: the paracellular route, i.e., through the cell-cell junctions and the transcellular route, i.e., through the endothelial cell body. However, it has been technically difficult to discriminate between the para- and transcellular route. We developed a simple in vitro assay to study the distribution of endogenous VE-cadherin and PECAM-1 during neutrophil transendothelial migration under physiological flow conditions. Prior to neutrophil perfusion, endothelial cells were briefly treated with fluorescently-labeled antibodies against VE-cadherin and PECAM-1. These antibodies did not interfere with the function of both proteins, as was determined by electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing and FRAP measurements. Using this assay, we were able to follow the distribution of endogenous VE-cadherin and PECAM-1 during transendothelial migration under flow conditions and discriminate between the para- and transcellular migration routes of the leukocytes across the endothelium.
15 Related JoVE Articles!
Isolation of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells and Their Use in the Study of Neutrophil Transmigration Under Flow Conditions
Institutions: University of Calgary .
Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell. They form an essential part of the innate immune system1
. During acute inflammation, neutrophils are the first inflammatory cells to migrate to the site of injury. Recruitment of neutrophils to an injury site is a stepwise process that includes first, dilation of blood vessels to increase blood flow; second, microvascular structural changes and escape of plasma proteins from the bloodstream; third, rolling, adhesion and transmigration of the neutrophil across the endothelium; and fourth accumulation of neutrophils at the site of injury2,3
. A wide array of in vivo
and in vitro
methods has evolved to enable the study of these processes4
. This method focuses on neutrophil transmigration across human endothelial cells.
One popular method for examining the molecular processes involved in neutrophil transmigration utilizes human neutrophils interacting with primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC)5
. Neutrophil isolation has been described visually elsewhere6
; thus this article will show the method for isolation of HUVEC. Once isolated and grown to confluence, endothelial cells are activated resulting in the upregulation of adhesion and activation molecules. For example, activation of endothelial cells with cytokines like TNF-α results in increased E-selectin and IL-8 expression7
. E-selectin mediates capture and rolling of neutrophils and IL-8 mediates activation and firm adhesion of neutrophils. After adhesion neutrophils transmigrate. Transmigration can occur paracellularly (through endothelial cell junctions) or transcellularly (through the endothelial cell itself). In most cases, these interactions occur under flow conditions found in the vasculature7,8
The parallel plate flow chamber is a widely used system that mimics the hydrodynamic shear stresses found in vivo
and enables the study of neutrophil recruitment under flow condition in vitro9,10
. Several companies produce parallel plate flow chambers and each have advantages and disadvantages. If fluorescent imaging is needed, glass or an optically similar polymer needs to be used. Endothelial cells do not grow well on glass.
Here we present an easy and rapid method for phase-contrast, DIC and fluorescent imaging of neutrophil transmigration using a low volume ibidi channel slide made of a polymer that supports the rapid adhesion and growth of human endothelial cells and has optical qualities that are comparable to glass. In this method, endothelial cells were grown and stimulated in an ibidi μslide. Neutrophils were introduced under flow conditions and transmigration was assessed. Fluorescent imaging of the junctions enabled real-time determination of the extent of paracellular versus transcellular transmigration.
Immunology, Issue 66, Medicine, Physiology, Cellular Biology, HUVEC, ibidi, leukocyte recruitment, neutrophil, flow chamber
In vitro Method to Observe E-selectin-mediated Interactions Between Prostate Circulating Tumor Cells Derived From Patients and Human Endothelial Cells
Institutions: Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Medical College.
Metastasis is a process in which tumor cells shed from the primary tumor intravasate blood vascular and lymphatic system, thereby, gaining access to extravasate and form a secondary niche. The extravasation of tumor cells from the blood vascular system can be studied using endothelial cells (ECs) and tumor cells obtained from different cell lines. Initial studies were conducted using static conditions but it has been well documented that ECs behave differently under physiological flow conditions. Therefore, different flow chamber assemblies are currently being used to studying cancer cell interactions with ECs. Current flow chamber assemblies offer reproducible results using either different cell lines or fluid at different shear stress conditions. However, to observe and study interactions with rare cells such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), certain changes are required to be made to the conventional flow chamber assembly. CTCs are a rare cell population among millions of blood cells. Consequently, it is difficult to obtain a pure population of CTCs. Contamination of CTCs with different types of cells normally found in the circulation is inevitable using present enrichment or depletion techniques. In the present report, we describe a unique method to fluorescently label circulating prostate cancer cells and study their interactions with ECs in a self-assembled flow chamber system. This technique can be further applied to observe interactions between prostate CTCs and any protein of interest.
Medicine, Issue 87, E-selectin, Metastasis, Microslides, Circulating tumor cells, PSMA, Prostate cancer, rolling velocity, immunostaining, HUVECs, flow chambers
Human Neutrophil Flow Chamber Adhesion Assay
Institutions: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Neutrophil firm adhesion to endothelial cells plays a critical role in inflammation in both health and disease. The process of neutrophil firm adhesion involves many different adhesion molecules including members of the β2
integrin family and their counter-receptors of the ICAM family. Recently, naturally occurring genetic variants in both β2
integrins and ICAMs are reported to be associated with autoimmune disease. Thus, the quantitative adhesive capacity of neutrophils from individuals with varying allelic forms of these adhesion molecules is important to study in relation to mechanisms underlying development of autoimmunity. Adhesion studies in flow chamber systems can create an environment with fluid shear stress similar to that observed in the blood vessel environment in vivo
. Here, we present a method using a flow chamber assay system to study the quantitative adhesive properties of human peripheral blood neutrophils to human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) and to purified ligand substrates. With this method, the neutrophil adhesive capacities from donors with different allelic variants in adhesion receptors can be assessed and compared. This method can also be modified to assess adhesion of other primary cell types or cell lines.
Immunology, Issue 89, neutrophil adhesion, flow chamber, human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC), purified ligand
Systematic Analysis of In Vitro Cell Rolling Using a Multi-well Plate Microfluidic System
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Harvard University, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A major challenge for cell-based therapy is the inability to systemically target a large quantity of viable cells with high efficiency to tissues of interest following intravenous or intraarterial infusion. Consequently, increasing cell homing is currently studied as a strategy to improve cell therapy. Cell rolling on the vascular endothelium is an important step in the process of cell homing and can be probed in-vitro
using a parallel plate flow chamber (PPFC). However, this is an extremely tedious, low throughput assay, with poorly controlled flow conditions. Instead, we used a multi-well plate microfluidic system that enables study of cellular rolling properties in a higher throughput under precisely controlled, physiologically relevant shear flow1,2
. In this paper, we show how the rolling properties of HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) cells on P- and E-selectin-coated surfaces as well as on cell monolayer-coated surfaces can be readily examined. To better simulate inflammatory conditions, the microfluidic channel surface was coated with endothelial cells (ECs), which were then activated with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), significantly increasing interactions with HL-60 cells under dynamic conditions. The enhanced throughput and integrated multi-parameter software analysis platform, that permits rapid analysis of parameters such as rolling velocities and rolling path, are important advantages for assessing cell rolling properties in-vitro
. Allowing rapid and accurate analysis of engineering approaches designed to impact cell rolling and homing, this platform may help advance exogenous cell-based therapy.
Bioengineering, Issue 80, Microfluidics, Endothelial Cells, Leukocyte Rolling, HL-60 cells, TNF-α, P-selectin, E-selectin
A Novel In vitro Model for Studying the Interactions Between Human Whole Blood and Endothelium
Institutions: Uppsala University.
The majority of all known diseases are accompanied by disorders of the cardiovascular system. Studies into the complexity of the interacting pathways activated during cardiovascular pathologies are, however, limited by the lack of robust and physiologically relevant methods. In order to model pathological vascular events we have developed an in vitro
assay for studying the interaction between endothelium and whole blood. The assay consists of primary human endothelial cells, which are placed in contact with human whole blood. The method utilizes native blood with no or very little anticoagulant, enabling study of delicate interactions between molecular and cellular components present in a blood vessel.
We investigated functionality of the assay by comparing activation of coagulation by different blood volumes incubated with or without human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Whereas a larger blood volume contributed to an increase in the formation of thrombin antithrombin (TAT) complexes, presence of HUVEC resulted in reduced activation of coagulation. Furthermore, we applied image analysis of leukocyte attachment to HUVEC stimulated with tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) and found the presence of CD16+
cells to be significantly higher on TNFα stimulated cells as compared to unstimulated cells after blood contact. In conclusion, the assay may be applied to study vascular pathologies, where interactions between the endothelium and the blood compartment are perturbed.
Immunology, Issue 93, In vitro human model system, whole blood, endothelial cells, vascular activation, inflammation, blood coagulation
Vascular Gene Transfer from Metallic Stent Surfaces Using Adenoviral Vectors Tethered through Hydrolysable Cross-linkers
Institutions: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania.
In-stent restenosis presents a major complication of stent-based revascularization procedures widely used to re-establish blood flow through critically narrowed segments of coronary and peripheral arteries. Endovascular stents capable of tunable release of genes with anti-restenotic activity may present an alternative strategy to presently used drug-eluting stents. In order to attain clinical translation, gene-eluting stents must exhibit predictable kinetics of stent-immobilized gene vector release and site-specific transduction of vasculature, while avoiding an excessive inflammatory response typically associated with the polymer coatings used for physical entrapment of the vector. This paper describes a detailed methodology for coatless tethering of adenoviral gene vectors to stents based on a reversible binding of the adenoviral particles to polyallylamine bisphosphonate (PABT)-modified stainless steel surface via hydrolysable cross-linkers (HC). A family of bifunctional (amine- and thiol-reactive) HC with an average t1/2
of the in-chain ester hydrolysis ranging between 5 and 50 days were used to link the vector with the stent. The vector immobilization procedure is typically carried out within 9 hr and consists of several steps: 1) incubation of the metal samples in an aqueous solution of PABT (4 hr); 2) deprotection of thiol groups installed in PABT with tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine (20 min); 3) expansion of thiol reactive capacity of the metal surface by reacting the samples with polyethyleneimine derivatized with pyridyldithio (PDT) groups (2 hr); 4) conversion of PDT groups to thiols with dithiothreitol (10 min); 5) modification of adenoviruses with HC (1 hr); 6) purification of modified adenoviral particles by size-exclusion column chromatography (15 min) and 7) immobilization of thiol-reactive adenoviral particles on the thiolated steel surface (1 hr). This technique has wide potential applicability beyond stents, by facilitating surface engineering of bioprosthetic devices to enhance their biocompatibility through the substrate-mediated gene delivery to the cells interfacing the implanted foreign material.
Medicine, Issue 90, gene therapy, bioconjugation, adenoviral vectors, stents, local gene delivery, smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, bioluminescence imaging
A Flow Adhesion Assay to Study Leucocyte Recruitment to Human Hepatic Sinusoidal Endothelium Under Conditions of Shear Stress
Institutions: University of Birmingham.
Leucocyte infiltration into human liver tissue is a common process in all adult inflammatory liver diseases. Chronic infiltration can drive the development of fibrosis and progression to cirrhosis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that mediate leucocyte recruitment to the liver could identify important therapeutic targets for liver disease. The key interaction during leucocyte recruitment is that of inflammatory cells with endothelium under conditions of shear stress. Recruitment to the liver occurs within the low shear channels of the hepatic sinusoids which are lined by hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSEC). The conditions within the hepatic sinusoids can be recapitulated by perfusing leucocytes through channels lined by human HSEC monolayers at specific flow rates. In these conditions leucocytes undergo a brief tethering step followed by activation and firm adhesion, followed by a crawling step and subsequent transmigration across the endothelial layer. Using phase contrast microscopy, each step of this 'adhesion cascade' can be visualized and recorded followed by offline analysis. Endothelial cells or leucocytes can be pretreated with inhibitors to determine the role of specific molecules during this process.
Immunology, Issue 85, Leucocyte trafficking, liver, hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells, peripheral blood lymphocytes, flow adhesion assay
Analysis of Oxidative Stress in Zebrafish Embryos
Institutions: University of Torino, Vesalius Research Center, VIB.
High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) may cause a change of cellular redox state towards oxidative stress condition. This situation causes oxidation of molecules (lipid, DNA, protein) and leads to cell death. Oxidative stress also impacts the progression of several pathological conditions such as diabetes, retinopathies, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Thus, it is important to define tools to investigate oxidative stress conditions not only at the level of single cells but also in the context of whole organisms. Here, we consider the zebrafish embryo as a useful in vivo
system to perform such studies and present a protocol to measure in vivo
oxidative stress. Taking advantage of fluorescent ROS probes and zebrafish transgenic fluorescent lines, we develop two different methods to measure oxidative stress in vivo
: i) a “whole embryo ROS-detection method” for qualitative measurement of oxidative stress and ii) a “single-cell ROS detection method” for quantitative measurements of oxidative stress. Herein, we demonstrate the efficacy of these procedures by increasing oxidative stress in tissues by oxidant agents and physiological or genetic methods. This protocol is amenable for forward genetic screens and it will help address cause-effect relationships of ROS in animal models of oxidative stress-related pathologies such as neurological disorders and cancer.
Developmental Biology, Issue 89, Danio rerio, zebrafish embryos, endothelial cells, redox state analysis, oxidative stress detection, in vivo ROS measurements, FACS (fluorescence activated cell sorter), molecular probes
Setting-up an In Vitro Model of Rat Blood-brain Barrier (BBB): A Focus on BBB Impermeability and Receptor-mediated Transport
Institutions: VECT-HORUS SAS, CNRS, NICN UMR 7259.
The blood brain barrier (BBB) specifically regulates molecular and cellular flux between the blood and the nervous tissue. Our aim was to develop and characterize a highly reproducible rat syngeneic in vitro
model of the BBB using co-cultures of primary rat brain endothelial cells (RBEC) and astrocytes to study receptors involved in transcytosis across the endothelial cell monolayer. Astrocytes were isolated by mechanical dissection following trypsin digestion and were frozen for later co-culture. RBEC were isolated from 5-week-old rat cortices. The brains were cleaned of meninges and white matter, and mechanically dissociated following enzymatic digestion. Thereafter, the tissue homogenate was centrifuged in bovine serum albumin to separate vessel fragments from nervous tissue. The vessel fragments underwent a second enzymatic digestion to free endothelial cells from their extracellular matrix. The remaining contaminating cells such as pericytes were further eliminated by plating the microvessel fragments in puromycin-containing medium. They were then passaged onto filters for co-culture with astrocytes grown on the bottom of the wells. RBEC expressed high levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins such as occludin, claudin-5 and ZO-1 with a typical localization at the cell borders. The transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) of brain endothelial monolayers, indicating the tightness of TJs reached 300 ohm·cm2
on average. The endothelial permeability coefficients (Pe) for lucifer yellow (LY) was highly reproducible with an average of 0.26 ± 0.11 x 10-3
cm/min. Brain endothelial cells organized in monolayers expressed the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), showed a polarized transport of rhodamine 123, a ligand for P-gp, and showed specific transport of transferrin-Cy3 and DiILDL across the endothelial cell monolayer. In conclusion, we provide a protocol for setting up an in vitro
BBB model that is highly reproducible due to the quality assurance methods, and that is suitable for research on BBB transporters and receptors.
Medicine, Issue 88, rat brain endothelial cells (RBEC), mouse, spinal cord, tight junction (TJ), receptor-mediated transport (RMT), low density lipoprotein (LDL), LDLR, transferrin, TfR, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER),
A Novel Three-dimensional Flow Chamber Device to Study Chemokine-directed Extravasation of Cells Circulating under Physiological Flow Conditions
Institutions: Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Cascade LifeSciences Inc..
Extravasation of circulating cells from the bloodstream plays a central role in many physiological and pathophysiological processes, including stem cell homing and tumor metastasis. The three-dimensional flow chamber device (hereafter the 3D device) is a novel in vitro
technology that recreates physiological shear stress and allows each step of the cell extravasation cascade to be quantified. The 3D device consists of an upper compartment in which the cells of interest circulate under shear stress, and a lower compartment of static wells that contain the chemoattractants of interest. The two compartments are separated by porous inserts coated with a monolayer of endothelial cells (EC). An optional second insert with microenvironmental cells of interest can be placed immediately beneath the EC layer. A gas exchange unit allows the optimal CO2
tension to be maintained and provides an access point to add or withdraw cells or compounds during the experiment. The test cells circulate in the upper compartment at the desired shear stress (flow rate) controlled by a peristaltic pump. At the end of the experiment, the circulating and migrated cells are collected for further analyses. The 3D device can be used to examine cell rolling on and adhesion to EC under shear stress, transmigration in response to chemokine gradients, resistance to shear stress, cluster formation, and cell survival. In addition, the optional second insert allows the effects of crosstalk between EC and microenvironmental cells to be examined. The translational applications of the 3D device include testing of drug candidates that target cell migration and predicting the in vivo
behavior of cells after intravenous injection. Thus, the novel 3D device is a versatile and inexpensive tool to study the molecular mechanisms that mediate cellular extravasation.
Bioengineering, Issue 77, Cellular Biology, Biophysics, Physiology, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Immunology, Cells, Biological Factors, Equipment and Supplies, Cell Physiological Phenomena, Natural Science Disciplines, Life Sciences (General), circulating cells, extravasation, physiological shear stress, endothelial cells, microenvironment, chemokine gradient, flow, chamber, cell culture, assay
Quantitative In vitro Assay to Measure Neutrophil Adhesion to Activated Primary Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells under Static Conditions
Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, University of California, San Francisco.
The vascular endothelium plays an integral part in the inflammatory response. During the acute phase of inflammation, endothelial cells (ECs) are activated by host mediators or directly by conserved microbial components or host-derived danger molecules. Activated ECs express cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules that mobilize, activate and retain leukocytes at the site of infection or injury. Neutrophils are the first leukocytes to arrive, and adhere to the endothelium through a variety of adhesion molecules present on the surfaces of both cells. The main functions of neutrophils are to directly eliminate microbial threats, promote the recruitment of other leukocytes through the release of additional factors, and initiate wound repair. Therefore, their recruitment and attachment to the endothelium is a critical step in the initiation of the inflammatory response. In this report, we describe an in vitro
neutrophil adhesion assay using calcein AM-labeled primary human neutrophils to quantitate the extent of microvascular endothelial cell activation under static conditions. This method has the additional advantage that the same samples quantitated by fluorescence spectrophotometry can also be visualized directly using fluorescence microscopy for a more qualitative assessment of neutrophil binding.
Immunology, Issue 78, Cellular Biology, Infection, Molecular Biology, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Biophysics, Endothelium, Vascular, Neutrophils, Inflammation, Inflammation Mediators, Neutrophil, Leukocyte Adhesion, Endothelial cells, assay
Real-time Imaging of Heterotypic Platelet-neutrophil Interactions on the Activated Endothelium During Vascular Inflammation and Thrombus Formation in Live Mice
Institutions: University of Illinois at Chicago , University of Illinois at Chicago .
Interaction of activated platelets and leukocytes (mainly neutrophils) on the activated endothelium mediates thrombosis and vascular inflammation.1,2
During thrombus formation at the site of arteriolar injury, platelets adherent to the activated endothelium and subendothelial matrix proteins support neutrophil rolling and adhesion.3
Conversely, under venular inflammatory conditions, neutrophils adherent to the activated endothelium can support adhesion and accumulation of circulating platelets. Heterotypic platelet-neutrophil aggregation requires sequential processes by the specific receptor-counter receptor interactions between cells.4
It is known that activated endothelial cells release adhesion molecules such as von Willebrand factor, thereby initiating platelet adhesion and accumulation under high shear conditions.5
Also, activated endothelial cells support neutrophil rolling and adhesion by expressing selectins and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), respectively, under low shear conditions.4
Platelet P-selectin interacts with neutrophils through P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), thereby inducing activation of neutrophil β2 integrins and firm adhesion between two cell types. Despite the advances in in vitro
experiments in which heterotypic platelet-neutrophil interactions are determined in whole blood or isolated cells,6,7
those studies cannot manipulate oxidant stress conditions during vascular disease. In this report, using fluorescently-labeled, specific antibodies against a mouse platelet and neutrophil marker, we describe a detailed intravital microscopic protocol to monitor heterotypic interactions of platelets and neutrophils on the activated endothelium during TNF-α-induced inflammation or following laser-induced injury in cremaster muscle microvessels of live mice.
Immunology, Issue 74, Medicine, Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Inflammation, Hematology, Neutrophils, Microscopy, Video, Thrombosis, Platelet Activation, Platelet Aggregation, Intravital microscopy, platelet, neutrophil, rolling, adhesion, vascular inflammation, thrombus formation, mice, animal model
Imaging Leukocyte Adhesion to the Vascular Endothelium at High Intraluminal Pressure
Institutions: Monash University.
Worldwide, hypertension is reported to be in approximately a quarter of the population and is the leading biomedical risk factor for mortality worldwide. In the vasculature hypertension is associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased inflammation leading to atherosclerosis and various disease states such as chronic kidney disease2
and heart failure4
. An initial step in vascular inflammation leading to atherogenesis is the adhesion cascade which involves the rolling, tethering, adherence and subsequent transmigration of leukocytes through the endothelium. Recruitment and accumulation of leukocytes to the endothelium is mediated by an upregulation of adhesion molecules such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intracellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and E-selectin as well as increases in cytokine and chemokine release and an upregulation of reactive oxygen species5
. In vitro
methods such as static adhesion assays help to determine mechanisms involved in cell-to-cell adhesion as well as the analysis of cell adhesion molecules. Methods employed in previous in vitro
studies have demonstrated that acute increases in pressure on the endothelium can lead to monocyte adhesion, an upregulation of adhesion molecules and inflammatory markers6
however, similar to many in vitro
assays, these findings have not been performed in real time under physiological flow conditions, nor with whole blood. Therefore, in vivo
assays are increasingly utilised in animal models to demonstrate vascular inflammation and plaque development. Intravital microscopy is now widely used to assess leukocyte adhesion, rolling, migration and transmigration7-9
. When combining the effects of pressure on leukocyte to endothelial adhesion the in vivo
studies are less extensive. One such study examines the real time effects of flow and shear on arterial growth and remodelling but inflammatory markers were only assessed via immunohistochemistry10
. Here we present a model for recording leukocyte adhesion in real time in intact pressurised blood vessels using whole blood perfusion. The methodology is a modification of an ex vivo
vessel chamber perfusion model9
which enables real-time analysis of leukocyte -endothelial adhesive interactions in intact vessels. Our modification enables the manipulation of the intraluminal pressure up to 200 mmHg allowing for study not only under physiological flow conditions but also pressure conditions. While pressure myography systems have been previously demonstrated to observe vessel wall and lumen diameter11
as well as vessel contraction this is the first time demonstrating leukocyte-endothelial interactions in real time. Here we demonstrate the technique using carotid arteries harvested from rats and cannulated to a custom-made flow chamber coupled to a fluorescent microscope. The vessel chamber is equipped with a large bottom coverglass allowing a large diameter objective lens with short working distance to image the vessel. Furthermore, selected agonist and/or antagonists can be utilized to further investigate the mechanisms controlling cell adhesion. Advantages of this method over intravital microscopy include no involvement of invasive surgery and therefore a higher throughput can be obtained. This method also enables the use of localised inhibitor treatment to the desired vessel whereas intravital only enables systemic inhibitor treatment.
Immunology, Issue 54, Leukocyte adhesion, intraluminal pressure, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, hypertension
Analysis of Physiologic E-Selectin-Mediated Leukocyte Rolling on Microvascular Endothelium
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
E-selectin is a type-1 membrane protein on microvascular endothelial cells that helps initiate recruitment of circulating leukocytes to cutaneous, bone and inflamed tissues. E-selectin expression is constitutive on dermal and bone microvessels and is inducible by pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1α/ and TNF-α, on microvessels in inflamed tissues. This lectin receptor mediates weak binding interactions with carbohydrate counter-receptor ligands on circulating leukocytes, which results in a characteristic rolling behavior. Because these interactions precede more stable adhesive events and diapedesis activity, characterization of leukocyte rolling activity and identification of leukocyte E-selectin ligands have been major goals in studies of leukocyte trafficking and inflammation and in the development of anti-inflammatory therapeutics (1-5). The intent of this report is to provide a visual, comprehensive description of the most widely-used technology for studying E-selectin E-selectin ligand interactions under physiologic blood flow conditions. Our laboratory in conjunction with the Harvard Skin Disease Research Center uses a state-of-the-art parallel-plate flow chamber apparatus accompanied by digital visualization and new recording software, NIS-Elements. This technology allows us to analyze adhesion events in real time for onscreen visualization as well as record rolling activity in a video format. Cell adhesion parameters, such as rolling frequency, shear resistance and binding/tethering efficiency, are calculated with NIS-Elements software, exported to an Excel spreadsheet and subjected to statistical analysis. In the demonstration presented here, we employed the parallel-plate flow chamber to investigate E-selectin-dependent leukocyte rolling activity on live human bone marrow endothelial cells (hBMEC). Human hematopoietic progenitor KG1a cells, which express a high level of E-selectin ligand, were used as our leukocyte model, while an immortalized hBMEC cell line, HBMEC-60 cells, was used as our endothelial cell model (6). To induce and simulate native E-selectin expression in the flow chamber, HBMEC-60 cells were first activated with IL-1 . Our video presentation showed that parallel-plate flow analysis is a suitable method for studying physiologic E-selectin-mediated leukocyte rolling activities and that functional characterization of leukocyte E-selectin ligand(s) in the flow chamber can be ascertained by implementing protease or glycosidase digestions.
Immunology, Issue 24, Rolling, Selectins, Endothelial Cells, Parallel-Plate Flow Chamber, Laminar Flow, Shear Stress, Homing, Trafficking, BMEC, bone marrow
Christopher Hughes: An in vitro model for the Study of Angiogenesis (Interview)
Institutions: University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Christopher C.W. Hughes describes the utility of his culture system for studying angiogenesis in vitro. He explains the importance of fibroblasts that secrete a critical, yet unidentified, soluble factor that allow endothelial cells to form vessels in culture that branch, form proper lumens, and undergo anastamosis.
Cellular Biology, Issue 3, angiogenesis, fibrin, endothelial, HUVEC, umbilical, Translational Research