Preserving the native phenotype of primary cells in vitro is a complex challenge. Recently, hydrogel-based cellular matrices have evolved as alternatives to conventional cell culture techniques. We developed a bacterial cellulose-based aqueous gel-like biomaterial, dubbed Xellulin, which mimics a cellular microenvironment and seems to maintain the native phenotype of cultured and primary cells....

BACKGROUND Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3), a well-known lipid second messenger, plays a key role in insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis. Using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and THP-1 monocytes, we tested the hypothesis that PIP3 can downregulate adhesion molecules and monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells. METHODS HUVEC and monocytes were exposed to hig...

Nitric oxide (NO), produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), is a major antiatherogenic factor in the blood vessel. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. Decreased availability of endothelial NO promotes the progression of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Rutin is a flavonoid with multi...

Preeclampsia, a pregnancy-specific syndrome characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and edema, is a major cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. Bj-PRO-10c, a proline-rich peptide isolated from Bothrops jararaca venom, has been attributed with potent anti-hypertensive effects. Recently, we have shown that Bj-PRO-10c-induced anti-hypertensive a...

Graft endothelial cells are primary targets of host CTL-mediated injury in acute allograft rejection. As an in vitro trial of gene therapy to reduce CTL-mediated endothelial injury, we stably transduced early passage HUVEC with a caspase-resistant mutant form (D34A) of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2. Bcl-2 transductants were compared with HUVEC transduced in parallel with an enhanced green fluor...

Recent studies in our laboratory, as well as others, have suggested that fibrin can regulate cell function in vitro and likely control inflammation in vivo by acting as a potent cell activator. This has led us to hypothesize that during tissue and vascular injury, fibrin can enhance leukocyte recruitment by inducing vascular endothelial cell expression of leukocyte chemotactic factors. To begin...

Propose: Standard electroporation and electrochemotherapy caused the endothe- lial cell permeability and reduction in tumor blood flow. The effects of low voltage and high frequency electroporation on the endothelial cells permeability and viability were expected. Therefore, the propose of present study was to evaluate the effect of electroporation with bleomycin or alone on viability and perme...

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) plays a critical role in muscle contraction, and its dysfunction can result various disorders. In vitro models for studying NMJ are essential understanding their functions pathology. However, the engineering of tissue presents challenges organization myofiber-like oriented bundles as well induction vessel formation innervation. To address these challenges, we fa...

Tumor-associated endothelial cells (TEC) directly facilitate tumor progression, but little is known about the mechanisms. We investigated the function of CD109 in TEC and its clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The correlation between CD109 expressed on tumor vessels and the prognosis after surgical resection of HCC was studied. The effect of human umbilical vein endothelia...

Homocysteine- (Hcy-) induced endothelial cell apoptosis has been suggested as a cause of Hcy-dependent vascular injury, while the proposed molecular pathways underlying this process are unclear. In this study, we investigated the adverse effects of Hcy on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and the underlying mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that moderate-dose Hcy treatment induc...