Morphological Responses and VE-cadherin Expression of Cultured Endothelial Cells Exposed to Hydrostatic Pressure
Details
Effect of hydrostatic pressure on morphology and expression of VE-cadherin of cultured bovine endothelial cells (ECs) was investigated. After confluent ECs were exposed to hydrostatic pressure of 0, 50, 100 and 150 mmHg for 24 hours, F-actin filaments and VE-cadherin of ECs were stained. Statically cultured ECs formed a cobblestone pattern of contact-inhibited cells with thin, short F-actin filaments. VE-cadherin was uniformly distributed at the periphery of cells. In contrast, ECs exposed to hydrostatic pressure exhibited marked elongation and random orientation, together with development of centrally located, thick stress fibers. Pressured ECs also exhibited multilayered structure unlike monolayer of control conditions. VE-cadherin was sparsely distributed around the periphery of cells, and its expression was lower than that of control. These results suggested that hydrostatic pressure inhibited the expression of VE-cadherin, resulting in loss of contact inhibition followed by formation of multilayered structure.
