Isolation, identification, and continuous culture of coronary endothelial cells from guinea pig hearts

Viable and homogeneous endothelial cells were obtained from isolated guinea pig hearts by application of a special perfusion technique of the coronary system with an isotonic collagenase-trypsin solution and subsequent purification of the dissociated cells by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. The coronary endothelial cells were grown in tissue culture for periods up to 7 months. Serial passage proved to be possible. During logarithmic growth, generation time was found to be 18 h; it could be reduced to 16 h by addition of thrombin to the culture medium. Light, phase contrast and scanning electron microscopy as well as autoradiography revealed that cultured coronary endothelial cells grew as strict monolayers of closely apposed, polygonal large cells. By scanning electron microscopy, it could be demonstrated that the morphology of the cultured cells changes characteristically during attachment of the cells to their substratum. The changes observed were very similar to those of proliferating endothelial cells of isolated coronary vessels kept in organ culture. According to transmission electron microscopy studies, cultured coronary endothelial cells proved to contain only an extremely small number of Weibel-Palade bodies. Nucleoside phosphorylase (EC 2.4.2.5.) and 5'-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5.) were identified in freshly isolated as well as in cultured endothelial cells. Their specific and total activities proved to be much higher than in myocardial tissue, thus indicating a prominent role of nucleotide metabolism in the coronary endothelium.