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Published on: January 23, 2019
Pilot study to validate endothelium collection from pulmonary artery balloon catheter in children
Maxwell Mathias1, Charles Sperrazza2, Anas Salkini2
1University of Oklahoma Health College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Oklahoma City, USA. maxwell-mathias@ou.edu.
Insights
Researchers developed a new method to isolate pulmonary endothelium from pediatric patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). This breakthrough provides crucial research samples for studying pediatric PH and developing new treatments.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pulmonology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH) presents significant morbidity and mortality, with current treatments derived from adult protocols.
- A major challenge in pediatric PH research is the scarcity of viable tissue samples and primary cells.
- Pediatric PH commonly impacts preterm infants with lung disease and those with congenital heart disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish and validate a method for obtaining viable pulmonary endothelium from pediatric patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.
- To address the critical need for primary cell cultures in pediatric PH research.
Main Methods:
- Adapted established adult cardiac catheterization techniques for pediatric patients.
- Utilized pulmonary wedge catheters to collect endothelial cells.
- Cultured and passaged primary cells, confirming endothelial phenotype through microscopy, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, migration, and tube formation assays.
Main Results:
- Successfully isolated and cultured pulmonary endothelium from pediatric PH patients using pulmonary wedge catheters.
- Confirmed the endothelial identity and functionality of the isolated cells.
- This marks the first reported successful endothelial cell culture from pulmonary wedge catheters in pediatric populations.
Conclusions:
- The described method provides a validated approach for endothelial isolation from pulmonary wedge catheters in pediatric patients.
- Pulmonary endothelium obtained via this method represents a valuable translational resource for investigating pediatric PH mechanisms and therapeutic development.
Abstract:
Pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH) has high morbidity and mortality, with an estimated 5-year survival of 75% regardless of underlying cause. Pediatric PH most commonly affects infants born preterm who develop lung disease of prematurity as well as those with congenital heart disease. Current therapies have been adapted from the treatment of adult PH. One barrier to the study of pediatric PH is the lack of live tissue samples or primary cells for research. In this manuscript, we describe methods to obtain pulmonary endothelium from cardiac catheterization of pediatric patients with PH. We applied methods previously described in adult patients undergoing isolated right heart catheterization to obtain viable endothelium from pulmonary wedge catheters in pediatric patients. Primary cells were grown and passaged, and endothelial phenotype was confirmed by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, migration assay, and tube formation assay. To our knowledge, this is the first published account of endothelial culture from pulmonary wedge balloon catheters in pediatric patients. IMPACT: Validation of endothelial isolation from pulmonary wedge catheter to pediatric populations. Endothelium isolated from pulmonary wedge catheters are a valuable translational resource to study disease mechanism and develop therapeutics.
