FUNCTIONAL-PROPERTIES OF A NEW LINE OF IM MORTALIZED HUMAN ENDOTHELIAL-CELLS

An immortalized human endothelial cell line war obtained by transfecti ng umbilical vein endothelial cells in primary culture with plasmid pM K16 containing SV40 replicated origin defective gene. The essential fu nctional properties demonstrated in these immortalized human endotheli al cells also retaining the classical phenotypical characteristics of endothelial cells in primary culture are: (1) endothelin-1 secretion; (2) capacity to convert big endothelin-1 into endothelin-1; (3) the ca pacity to secrete IL1 beta and IL6 interleukins both spontaneously and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation; (4) arginine transfer fro m the extracellular to the intracellular medium. Such stable cell line could facilitate studies of regulation of endothelin-1 production; (5 ) No-synthase activity; (6) binding and metabolisation of acetylated l ow-density lipoproteins.