The cells of the retinal microvasculature consist predominantly of mesodermally derived pericytes and endothelial cells, and the regulatory factors which govern their co-ordinated growth and define their phenotypic characteristics in vivo may be regarded as key elements of the angiogenic process. An investigation of these cells in co-culture experiments has led to the identification of a potent...

Impairment in endothelial cell (EC) function plays a central role in vascular diseases (e.g. atherosclerosis, restenosis, diabetic angiopathies, microvascular angina, peripheral arterial disease). BRX-235 (a novel small molecule synthesized by Biorex, Hungary) has a potent vasculoprotective activity in different in vivo and in vitro studies. Since the importance of the p38 pathway in EC homeost...

AIDS-related B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (AIDS-NHL) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). AIDS-NHL is clinically and histologically heterogeneous, but common features include an aggressive clinical course and frequent extranodal presentation. HIV-1 infection of nonimmune cells that interact with malignant...

We read with interest the article “Redefining endothelial progenitor cells via clonal analysis and hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell principles” by Yoder et al.1 The authors compared 2 types of colony assays that have been shown to identify endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs)2,3 and studied the function of the cells derived from these assay systems. They found that a commercially available kit...

Thrombomodulin (TM), a critical component of the protein C anticoagulant pathway, has previously been localized to endothelial cells (EC), but not smooth muscle cells (SMC) of the blood vessel wall. We demonstrate that cultured rat, bovine, as well as human SMC, but not blood vessel wall smooth muscle tissue, possess significant functional levels of TM and TM mRNA. Cyclic adenosine monophosphat...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is a common and frequently unrecognized cause of stroke and epilepsy. It consists of blood-filled caverns lined by endothelial cells (EC) and devoid of mature vessel wall structure. Cultured EC obtained from CCM may express phenotypic and genotypic alterations contributing to CCM pathogenesis. We report the first successful isolat...

INTRODUCTION Oxidation products of 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (OxPAPC) differentially modulate endothelial cell (EC) barrier function in a dose-dependent fashion. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2) is involved in the OxPAPC-induced EC inflammatory activation. This study examined a role of VEGFR2 in barrier dysfunction caused by high concentra...

Vascular functions are affected by wall shear stresses (WSS) applied on the endothelial cells (EC), as well as by the interactions of the EC with the adjacent smooth muscle cells (SMC). The present study was designed to investigate the effects of WSS on the endothelial interactions with its surroundings. For this purpose we developed and constructed two co-culture models of EC and SMC, and comp...

Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction is associated with many disease states including deep vein thrombosis (DVT), chronic kidney disease, sepsis and diabetes. Loss of the glycocalyx, a thin glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-rich layer on the EC surface, is a key feature of endothelial dysfunction and increases exposure of EC adhesion molecules such as selectins, which are involved in platelet binding to ECs...