Isolation and analysis of large and small vessel endothelial cells

The in vitro isolation, propagation and study of endothelial cells (EC) is an invaluable means by which the function of the vascular endothelium in physiology and patho-physiology can be explored. In recent years heterogeneity between large and small vessel EC, between arteries and veins, and between microvascular EC derived from different organs has become increasingly apparent. This has led to the development of protocols for the isolation of these different EC. In addition, the data emerging on vascular EC function in gene-targeted mice has highlighted the need for reliable methods of isolation of murine EC. This chapter describes methods for the isolation, characterization and culture of macro- and microvascular EC from a variety of species and introduces simple approaches to investigating their surface antigen expression.