Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) utilizes clathrin-mediated endocytosis for its infectious entry into human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells (S. M. Akula, P. P. Naranatt, N.-S. Walia, F.-Z. Wang, B. Fegley, and B. Chandran, J. Virol. 77:7978-7990, 2003). Here, we characterized KSHV entry into primary human microvascular dermal endothelial (HMVEC-d) and human umbilical vein endothel...

The anti-angiogenic effect of thrombospondin-1 has been shown to be mediated through binding of the type-1 repeat (TSR) domain to the CD36 transmembrane receptor. We now report that the TSR domain can inhibit VEGF-induced migration in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), cells that lack CD36. Moreover, we identified beta1 integrins as a critical receptor in TSR-mediated inhibition of...

Expression of follicle-stimulation hormone receptor (FSHR) is confined to gonads and at low levels to some extragonadal tissues like human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). FSH-FSHR signaling was shown to promote HUVEC angiogenesis and thereafter suggested to have an influential role in pregnancy. We revisited hereby the expression and functionality of FSHR in HUVECs angiogenesis, and w...

ADAMTS13, the von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease, is constitutively produced by endothelial cells. The aim was to quantify ADAMTS13 production in proliferating and nonproliferating human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and to determine if such production was regulated. HUVECs were plated at 50,000 cells/cm(2) or 10,000 cells/cm(2), densities yielding confluence or subconfluence, ...

The role of interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the inflammatory process has emerged recently. In this study, we investigated the effect of IL-4 on the angiogenic process in an in vitro experimental system. IL-4 significantly inhibited the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) that was induced by the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFG...

Endothelial cells are very sensitive to microgravity and the morphological and functional changes in endothelial cells are believed to be at the basis of weightlessness-induced cardiovascular deconditioning. It has been shown that the proliferation, migration, and morphological differentiation of endothelial cells play critical roles in angiogenesis. However, the influence of microgravity on th...

Peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) in hemodialysis (HD) patients are primed, continually releasing and exposing the vascular endothelium to soluble factors such as reactive oxygen species and inflammatory mediators. To mimic the close proximity between PMNL and the endothelial monolayer and to monitor and characterize the influence of soluble mediators released from PMNL, we develop...

BACKGROUND Breast cancer-endothelium interactions provide regulatory signals facilitating tumor progression. The endothelial cells have so far been mainly viewed in the context of tumor perfusion and relatively little is known regarding the effects of such paracrine interactions on the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM), proteasome activity and properties of endothelial cells. METHODS T...

OBJECTIVE Systemic endothelial dysfunction is a central feature in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. Its cell biologic and molecular basis is poorly understood. One leading hypothesis argues that endothelial dysfunction is caused by (at present largely unknown) circulating factors released from the ischemic placenta. This study investigated the effects of plasma factors of severe, early-onse...

High molecular weight kininogen (HK) is a multifunctional plasma glycoprotein that occupies a critical position in pathways that link inflammation and coagulation. Excision of the vasoactive peptide bradykinin by plasma kallikrein results in kinin-free HK that consists of a 65-Kd N-terminal heavy chain (HK-HC) linked to the C-terminal 45-Kd light chain (HK-LC) by a disulfide bridge. HK-HC is an...