Effect of cultured endothelial cells on angiogenesis in vivo

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of cultured endothelial cells on angiogenesis in vivo. Endothelial cells obtained from thoracic aorta of male Wistar rats were cultured in thermoresponsive dishes, which are tissue culture polystyrene dishes bound with thermoresponsive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide). Using the thermoresponsive dishes, a confluent layer of endothelial cells can be detached as an intact sheet by low temperature treatment. The obtained sheets of cultured endothelial cells were grafted to 3 x 3 cm full-thickness skin defects that had been made on the backs of rats in combination with either free skin grafts or artificial dermis grafts. Histologic examinations were performed. The findings showed that, with each of the grafting procedures, the number of vessels in a unit area (1.0 x 10(-4) mm2) was significantly larger in the group with transplantation of cultured endothelial cells. This result suggests that the cultured vascular endothelial cells exert an angiogenic effect at the graft site.