Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.

Shear stress induced by laminar blood flow has a profound effect on the morphology and functional phenotype of macrovascular endothelial cells. The influence of laminar flow on the glomerular microvascular endothelium, however, remains largely elusive. The glomerular endothelium, including its glyco...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daan C 't Hart, Johan van der Vlag, Tom Nijenhuis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0251129&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850042788573347840
author Daan C 't Hart
Johan van der Vlag
Tom Nijenhuis
author_facet Daan C 't Hart
Johan van der Vlag
Tom Nijenhuis
author_sort Daan C 't Hart
collection DOAJ
description Shear stress induced by laminar blood flow has a profound effect on the morphology and functional phenotype of macrovascular endothelial cells. The influence of laminar flow on the glomerular microvascular endothelium, however, remains largely elusive. The glomerular endothelium, including its glycocalyx, is a crucial part of the glomerular filtration barrier, which is involved in blood filtration. We therefore investigated the influence of laminar flow-induced shear stress on the glomerular endothelium. Conditionally immortalized mouse glomerular endothelial cells were cultured for 7 days under a laminar flow of 5 dyn/cm2 to mimic the glomerular blood flow. The cells were subsequently analysed for changes in morphology, expression of shear stress-responsive genes, nitric oxide production, glycocalyx composition, expression of anti-oxidant genes and the inflammatory response. Culture under laminar flow resulted in cytoskeletal rearrangement and cell alignment compared to static conditions. Moreover, production of nitric oxide was increased and the expression of the main functional component of the glycocalyx, Heparan Sulfate, was enhanced in response to shear stress. Furthermore, glomerular endothelial cells demonstrated a quiescent phenotype under flow, characterized by a decreased expression of the pro-inflammatory gene ICAM-1 and increased expression of the anti-oxidant enzymes HO-1 and NQO1. Upon exposure to the inflammatory stimulus TNFα, however, glomerular endothelial cells cultured under laminar flow showed an enhanced inflammatory response. In conclusion, laminar flow extensively affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells in culture. Furthermore, glomerular endothelial cells respond differently to shear stress compared to macrovascular endothelium. To improve the translation of future in vitro studies with glomerular endothelial cells to the in vivo situation, it appears therefore crucial to culture glomerular endothelial cells under physiological flow conditions.
format Article
id doaj-art-79d92ac9fcad446ba1aba23c1003ca20
institution DOAJ
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2021-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-79d92ac9fcad446ba1aba23c1003ca202025-08-20T02:55:27ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01165e025112910.1371/journal.pone.0251129Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.Daan C 't HartJohan van der VlagTom NijenhuisShear stress induced by laminar blood flow has a profound effect on the morphology and functional phenotype of macrovascular endothelial cells. The influence of laminar flow on the glomerular microvascular endothelium, however, remains largely elusive. The glomerular endothelium, including its glycocalyx, is a crucial part of the glomerular filtration barrier, which is involved in blood filtration. We therefore investigated the influence of laminar flow-induced shear stress on the glomerular endothelium. Conditionally immortalized mouse glomerular endothelial cells were cultured for 7 days under a laminar flow of 5 dyn/cm2 to mimic the glomerular blood flow. The cells were subsequently analysed for changes in morphology, expression of shear stress-responsive genes, nitric oxide production, glycocalyx composition, expression of anti-oxidant genes and the inflammatory response. Culture under laminar flow resulted in cytoskeletal rearrangement and cell alignment compared to static conditions. Moreover, production of nitric oxide was increased and the expression of the main functional component of the glycocalyx, Heparan Sulfate, was enhanced in response to shear stress. Furthermore, glomerular endothelial cells demonstrated a quiescent phenotype under flow, characterized by a decreased expression of the pro-inflammatory gene ICAM-1 and increased expression of the anti-oxidant enzymes HO-1 and NQO1. Upon exposure to the inflammatory stimulus TNFα, however, glomerular endothelial cells cultured under laminar flow showed an enhanced inflammatory response. In conclusion, laminar flow extensively affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells in culture. Furthermore, glomerular endothelial cells respond differently to shear stress compared to macrovascular endothelium. To improve the translation of future in vitro studies with glomerular endothelial cells to the in vivo situation, it appears therefore crucial to culture glomerular endothelial cells under physiological flow conditions.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0251129&type=printable
spellingShingle Daan C 't Hart
Johan van der Vlag
Tom Nijenhuis
Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.
PLoS ONE
title Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.
title_full Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.
title_fullStr Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.
title_full_unstemmed Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.
title_short Laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells.
title_sort laminar flow substantially affects the morphology and functional phenotype of glomerular endothelial cells
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0251129&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT daancthart laminarflowsubstantiallyaffectsthemorphologyandfunctionalphenotypeofglomerularendothelialcells
AT johanvandervlag laminarflowsubstantiallyaffectsthemorphologyandfunctionalphenotypeofglomerularendothelialcells
AT tomnijenhuis laminarflowsubstantiallyaffectsthemorphologyandfunctionalphenotypeofglomerularendothelialcells