PURPOSE: Endothelium insulin permeability was investigated using in vitro, dynamic culture of endothelial cells. METHODS: Endothelial cells were cultured in a hollow fiber apparatus and continuously exposed to a flow. Transendothelial electrical resistance and permeability to [14C]sucrose and [14C]inulin were used to monitor the integrity of the endothelial monolayer. RESULTS: Under these experimental conditions, measurements of insulin permeability, investigated at increasing hormone concentrations, suggested that the predominant transendothelial insulin fluxes were attributable to bidirectional convective transport rather than to a saturable transport mechanism, in agreement with in vivo experiment results published earlier. Analytical determinations of insulin catabolism demonstrated a low percent of insulin degradation by the endothelium, leading to production of insulin metabolites qualitatively identical to those produced by human monocytes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this paper indicated that (a) insulin crosses the endothelial monolayer by paracellular "leak" and endothelial insulin receptors have a minor (if any) role in insulin transport; (b) degradation of the hormone by BAEC is minimal; (c) the in vitro, dynamic culture of endothelial cells presented here should represent a valuable transport model system to study permeability mechanisms of insulin and many other drugs.
PURPOSE: Endothelium insulin permeability was investigated using in vitro, dynamic culture of endothelial cells. METHODS: Endothelial cells were cultured in a hollow fiber apparatus and continuously exposed to a flow. Transendothelial electrical resistance and permeability to [14C]sucrose and [14C]inulin were used to monitor the integrity of the endothelial monolayer. RESULTS: Under these experimental conditions, measurements of insulin permeability, investigated at increasing hormone concentrations, suggested that the predominant transendothelial insulin fluxes were attributable to bidirectional convective transport rather than to a saturable transport mechanism, in agreement with in vivo experiment results published earlier. Analytical determinations of insulin catabolism demonstrated a low percent of insulin degradation by the endothelium, leading to production of insulin metabolites qualitatively identical to those produced by human monocytes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this paper indicated that (a) insulin crosses the endothelial monolayer by paracellular "leak" and endothelial insulin receptors have a minor (if any) role in insulin transport; (b) degradation of the hormone by BAEC is minimal; (c) the in vitro, dynamic culture of endothelial cells presented here should represent a valuable transport model system to study permeability mechanisms of insulin and many other drugs.
Authors: L Benzi; A M Ciccarone; P Cecchetti; G DiCianni; F Caricato; L Trincavelli; L Volpe; R Navalesi Journal: Diabetes Res Clin Pract Date: 1999-12 Impact factor: 5.602
Authors: Guanglei Li; Melissa J Simon; Limary M Cancel; Zhong-Dong Shi; Xinying Ji; John M Tarbell; Barclay Morrison; Bingmei M Fu Journal: Ann Biomed Eng Date: 2010-04-02 Impact factor: 3.934