Origins of circulating endothelial cells and endothelial outgrowth from blood
Yi Lin, … , Anna Solovey, Robert P. Hebbel
Yi Lin, … , Anna Solovey, Robert P. Hebbel
Published January 1, 2000
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2000;105(1):71-77. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI8071.
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Article

Origins of circulating endothelial cells and endothelial outgrowth from blood

Abstract

Normal adults have a small number of circulating endothelial cells (CEC) in peripheral blood, and endothelial outgrowth has been observed from cultures of blood. In this study we seek insight into the origins of CEC and endothelial outgrowth from cultures of blood. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of blood samples from bone marrow transplant recipients who had received gender-mismatched transplants 5–20 months earlier showed that most CEC in fresh blood had recipient genotype. Endothelial outgrowth from the same blood samples after 9 days in culture (5-fold expansion) was still predominantly of the recipient genotype. In contrast, endothelial outgrowth after ∼1 month (102-fold expansion) was mostly of donor genotype. Thus, recipient-genotype endothelial cells expanded only ∼20-fold over this period, whereas donor-genotype endothelial cells expanded ∼1000-fold. These data suggest that most CEC in fresh blood originate from vessel walls and have limited growth capability. Conversely, the data indicate that outgrowth of endothelial cells from cultures of blood is mostly derived from transplantable marrow-derived cells. Because these cells have more delayed outgrowth but a greater proliferative rate, our data suggest that they are derived from circulating angioblasts.

Authors

Yi Lin, Daniel J. Weisdorf, Anna Solovey, Robert P. Hebbel

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Figure 1

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Endothelial expansion from buffy coat mononuclear cells of normal blood....
Endothelial expansion from buffy coat mononuclear cells of normal blood. On day 2 and for subsequent passages (indicated by arrows), the number of endothelial cells was confirmed by staining for P1H12 and vWF, and that number was consistent with the cell count by morphology. All data points plotted as mean ± SD (n = 5 for culture up to passage 6; n = 4 for subsequent passages).