A quantitative ultrastructural study of circulating (monocytic) cells interacting with endothelial cells in high oxygen-injured and spontaneously re-forming (FVB) mouse lung capillaries

Abstract

The present study demonstrates the fine structure of blood-borne (monocytic) circulating cells (CCs), and their interaction with endothelial cells, in a mouse model of lung capillary injury and repair. Quantitative analysis highlights the diversity of CC profiles entering the lung, where they form contact and adhesion/fusion sites to endothelial plasmalemmal membranes, and to complexes of endothelial/basement membrane remnants, as capillary networks reorganize over time. Temporal patterns of CC influx and efflux in the lung, changing CC phenotypes, and the range of CC interactions with endothelium, underscore the potential for a complex angiogenic/immunogenic response, as capillary networks stabilize and undergo expansion and growth.