Determination of Endothelial Barrier Resistance by Electric Cell-Substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS) System

Endothelial cells lining the inner surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels play an indispensable role in vascular homeostasis. Apart from regulating vessel tone and forming an anti-thrombotic and anti-atherosclerotic surface, the dynamic endothelial barrier controls transport of solutes and fluid in and out of tissues at the capillary bed. Transit of circulating leukocytes into and out of circulation during inflammation and tissue repair is also regulated by the endothelium. Dysregulation of this barrier function of endothelial cells is a hallmark feature of multiple diseases and conditions such as sepsis, cancer metastasis, and edema. In this chapter we describe a detailed methodology to perform an in vitro experiment to monitor changes in barrier properties of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in real time, in response to thrombin with electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) biosensor system.