Endothelial Cell Isolation

The endothelium is a vascular system that extends throughout most of the entire body and nourishes tissues. Although the endothelium was considered a dormant barrier whose function was simply to separate the blood from the tissue, endothelium is a dynamic tissue, functioning in many physiological processes and homeostasis. A dysfunctional endothelium is the key factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases; moreover, the aggressive proliferation of endothelial cells facilitates tumor growth. This has led to the creation of a wide range of protocols to isolate and culture endothelial cells from different tissues over the past 30 years.

In general, there are two types of endothelial cells, belonging to the macrovessels or the microvessels. Because of the structural differences in vasculature, the endothelium can be a single ...