Am. Muller et al., Comparative analysis of the reactivity of human umbilical vein endothelialcells in organ and monolayer culture, PATHOBIOLOG, 67(2), 1999, pp. 99-107
Endothelial monolayer cell cultures have been used to study pathomechanisms
under standardized in vitro conditions. These results can only be regarded
as valid as long as phenomena studied in vitro are comparable to findings
in situ, e.g. in organ culture. The aim of the present study was to examine
the reliability and comparability between human umbilical vein endothelial
cells (HUVEC) in a monolayer cell culture model and endothelial cells (EC)
in organ culture, as well as in the native umbilical cord. Our results pro
ve the reliability of HUVEC as a model for standardized investigations of E
C. The differences found suggest that gradual differences in antigen expres
sion in vitro and in situ become apparent by comparing in situ and in vitro
investigations.