title: Human vascular endothelial cells: a model system for studying vascular inflammation in diabetes and atherosclerosis.
abstract: The vascular endothelium is the inner lining of blood vessels serving as autocrine and paracrine organ that regulates vascular wall function. Endothelial dysfunction is recognized as initial step in the atherosclerotic process and is well advanced in diabetes, even before the manifestation of end-organ damage. Strategies capable of assessing changes in vascular endothelium at the preclinical stage hold potential to refine cardiovascular risk. In vitro cell culture is useful in understanding the interaction of endothelial cells with various mediators; however, it is often criticized due to the uncertain relevance of results to humans. Although circulating endothelial cells, endothelial microparticles, and progenitor cells opened the way for ex vivo studies, a recently described method for obtaining primary endothelial cells through endovascular biopsy allows direct characterization of endothelial phenotype in humans. In this article, we appraise the use of endothelial cell-based methodologies to study vascular inflammation in diabetes and atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 West, 168th Street, PS-17-401, New York, NY 10032, USA. hdo2102@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Duygu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Onat
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brillon
authors.forename: Paolo C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: Ann Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000473:pathology*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology