Culture-Produced Subendothelium

Abstract

Culture-produced subendothelium (SE) has been prepared from cultured porcine aortic endothelial cells (ECs) by a rapid freeze-thaw, ice-shearing method. En face preparations of this in situ SE material are essentially free of intact or damaged cells and cell debris and consist of an extensive meshwork of microfibrillar and amorphous material. Washed porcine platelets reacted extensively with this SE material and were associated with the SE as single adherent platelets, single spread platelets, and varying-sized platelet aggregates or ‘micro thrombi’. Platelet aggregates were asscociated only with the damaged or frayed edges of the SE, and the platelets had undergone extensive SE-induced contraction and degranulation, as indicated by transmission electron microscopy. Platelet-SE interaction was affected by pH, calcium, platelet concentration, rapid shaking and exposure time. Platelet-SE interaction was significantly enhanced by the addition of 0.1–1% citrated plasma or purified porcine F.VIIIR:WF. Pretreatment of the SE with thrombin, elastase, neuraminidase or hyaluroni-dase had no effect on platelet-SE interaction, whereas pretreatment with pepsin, plasmin, trypsin, α-chymotrypsin or collagenase decreased or completely abolished all platelet-SE interaction. Extraction of the SE with various solutions (high salt, detergents, etc.) had no effect on platelet-SE interaction, only solutions containing sodium dodecyl sulfate completely abolished all platelet-SE interaction.