High-efficiency and low-toxicity adenovirus-assisted endothelial transfection

Cultured endothelial cells have provided a powerful tool for discovery of the molecular regulators of a range of vascular processes from angiogenesis to fibrinolysis (1). Yet, the utility of genetic manipulation of endothelial culture systems to dissect critical intracellular signaling processes has been limited to date. Available methods such as retroviral transduction require endothelial proliferation, while cationic lipid mediated transfection is inefficient and evokes marked toxicity in cultured endothelial cells (2-4). Adenoviral transduction of endothelial cells is efficient, but preparation of recombinant adenovirus vectors is cumbersome.