Endothelial transport of anionized and cationized ferritin in the rabbit thoracic aorta and vasa vasorum

Transport of anionized ferritins (AF,pl = 3.8-4.2), weakly cationized ferritins (WCF, pI = 7.8-8.1) and cationized ferritins (CF, pI greater than 9.0) was investigated in the rabbit aorta and vasa vasorum. After a 2-minute in situ perfusion, all ferritin species entered luminal vesicles and bound to the luminal endothelial membrane with a high surface density at vesicle necks and regions of cell overlap. In comparison to the aorta, the vasa vasorum had a higher surface density for AF, lower surface densities for CF and WCF, and fewer vesicles containing CF, WCF, or AF. In both types of vessels, vesicle loading of all ferritin species did not agree with a Poisson distribution. After perfusion times of up to 30 minutes, no abluminal vesicles or vasa vasorum endothelium contained CF or WCF; a few abluminal vesicles near cell borders contained AF. In the vasa vasorum, CF and AF entered the subendothelium via occasional fenestrae; AF, but not CF, also permeated the adventitia. Our findings indicate that: 1) binding sites for oppositely charged particles coexist in the same microdomains; 2) the glycocalyces of the vasa vasorum and aorta differ in their relative affinities for oppositely charged particles; 3) vesicular labeling with ferritin is not solely diffusive; and 4) vesicles do not traverse the aortic endothelium under these experimental conditions.