Abstract
Microvascular endothelial cells from abdominal fat pads of 6-wk-old broiler chickens were isolated to provide an in vitro system to study their physiological functions. The isolation procedure produced clumps of 10-30 cells, which attached to culture vessels in 4 h and attained confluency in 2 wk. At confluency, cells had a cobblestone appearance but were not contact inhibited and detached from the bottom of the culture vessel 2 wk after reaching confluency. The cells internalized acetylated low density lipoproteins, a characteristic of endothelial cells. This property was used to obtain pure endothelial cell cultures using the cell sorter. When cultured over Matrigel, a reconstituted matrix, the cells aligned themselves into chordlike structures and formed branching microvessels. Cells plated on type I collagen-coated culture flasks occasionally formed chordlike structures and proliferated at a faster rate than cells plated on Matrigel. Cells cultured on laminin-coated plates were slender and had long cytoplasmic extensions; however, cells cultured on uncoated plastic had fibroblastic morphology. These properties are similar to those described for microvessel endothelial cells isolated from tissues of other species.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have