DEFINED HUMAN MICROVASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELL SYSTEM

HUMAN MICROVASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (MVEC) REMAIN LARGELY UNSTUDIED DUE TO DIFFICULTIES IN ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING CELL CULTURES. WE SEEK TO DEVELOP A PRODUCT CONSISTING OF HUMAN ADIPOSE TISSUE-DERIVED MVEC AND AN OPTIMIZED DEFINED, SERUM-FREE CULTURE SYSTEM. A STANDARD IN VITRO SYSTEM WILL ADVANCE RESEARCH INTO PROCESS AND INTERACTIONS INVOLVED IN HUMAN DISEASE. CELL SYSTEMS HAS DEVELOPED AND MARKETED ON A LARGE SCALE HUMAN UMBILICAL VEIN ENDOTHELIAL (HUVE) CELLS AND A DEFINED SERUM-FREE HUVE CULTURE SYSTEM. THIS MEDIUM INHIBITS NON-ENDOTHELIAL CELLS. STUDIES ON THE HUVE, INCLUDING CYTOKINE ACTIVATION AND RETROVIRAL TRANSFECTION, VALIDATE THE SYSTEM. THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO DEVELOP A MARKETABLE DEFINED SYSTEM FOR HUMAN MVEC AND CELL CULTURES ORIGINATED AND GROWING IN THIS SYSTEM. THE EXISTENCE OF A STANDARDIZED SYSTEM FOR HUMAN HVEC WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH, AND WILL ALLOW RESULTS FROM VARIOUS LABORATORIES TO BE MORE EASILY COMPARED. RESEARCHERS WILL BE ABLE TO WORK MVEC WITHOUT INVENTING A CULTURE SYSTEM OF BECOMING EXPERTS IN EC BIOLOGY. CELL CULTURE IS A TOOL, NOT AN END IN ITSELF, AND WE WILL PROVIDE A FINISHED, USEFUL TOOL: RESEARCHERS CAN CONCENTRATE ON EXPERIMENTS, AND CAN SPEND LESS TIME (AND MONEY) ON CELL CULTURES THEY NEED. OUR PERSONNEL HAVE EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN CULTURING AND OPTIMIZING DEFINED SERUM-FREE SYSTEMS FOR EC FROM DIFFERENT SPECIES AND DIFFERENT VASCULAR BEDS (CURRENT PRODUCTS INCLUDE PORCINE OMENTAL AND ADIPOSE TISSUE-DERIVED MVEC; AND HUMAN, BOVINE, PORCINE, AND CANINE LARGE-VESSEL EC). CELL SYSTEMS HAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND BACKGROUND TO MANUFACTURE AND MARKET HUMAN EC AND ITS DEFINED CULTURE SYSTEM.