Cjm. Degroot et al., HUMAN ENDOTHELIAL-CELL MORPHOLOGY AND AUTACOID EXPRESSION, American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology, 37(4), 1995, pp. 1613-1620
Human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells plated on plastic or gel
atin-coated dishes grow as a ''cobblestone'' monolayer. By contrast, e
ndothelial cells cultured on a complex matrix (e.g., Matrigel) form th
ree-dimensional, capillary-like structures. In the current study, we v
erified the capillary phenotype of the latter structures and asked whe
ther the morphological changes induced by extracellular matrix also af
fect human endothelial gene expression and function in vitro. Concentr
ations of cellular fibronectin, prostacyclin, and endothelin-1 were me
asured in the conditioned media by enzyme-linked immunosorbent and rad
ioimmunoassays. Steady-state concentrations of HUVE mRNA were estimate
d by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and quantified by
Northern analyses to assess fibronectin and endothelin-1 gene express
ion. We found that the subjacent extracellular matrix affects the morp
hology, proliferation, and differentiation of HUVE cells in vitro. Cel
ls cultured on gelatin were more mitotically active, expressed signifi
cantly less cellular fibronectin, made similar amounts of prostacyclin
, and secreted significantly more endothelin-1 compared with the same
cells grown on a Matrigel substrate.