A new model of human aortic endothelial cells in vitro

Vascular endothelial cells play an important role in coagulation regulation of vascular tone and in a variety of synthetic and metabolic functions. En dothelial cells also have a pivotal role in immunological diseases atheroge nesis and tumor angiogenesis. Endothelial cells are often used as system to study the pathophysiology of late complications in diabetes mellitus ather osclerotic damages and leukocyte adhesion in inflammatory diseases. Most of the studies have been performed on primary arterial and venous endothelial cell cultures with problems such as availability of autoptic material and reproducibility of cell cultures. We have isolated and characterized a nove l system of proliferating long-term cultures of human aortic endothelial ce lls that maintain their differentiated characteristics for many generations in vitro. They produce antithrombotic and thrombotic factors such as t-PA and PAI-1 and respond to TNF alpha, an important factor correlated with the inflammatory process by modifying growth characteristics by producing cyto kines such as GM-CSF by expressing ICAM-1 on the surface and by producing l arge amounts of nitric oxide and endothelin. This new system may be very us eful to understand and study the molecular mechanisms involved in many vasc ular alteration pathologies and in the aging process. (C) 2000 Societe fran caise de biochimie et biologie moleculaire / Editions scientifiques et medi cales Elsevier SAS.