Effects of hyperoxia on microvascular cells in vitro.

Microvascular cells are most vulnerable to direct oxygen damage. Using an in vitro model system we have investigated the effect of elevated oxygen on the proliferation, morphology, and integrity of microvascular endothelial cells (EC) and pericytes. Cultivation of these cells at oxygen concentrations of 40% for 1 wk resulted in the inhibition of EC proliferation but had no effect on the growth of the pericytes. Similarly, hyperoxia induced a dramatic change in the shape of the EC, increasing their spread area by close to six-fold. Under the same conditions, the spread area of the pericytes was unaffected. To understand the effect of the hyperoxic treatment on the cells, the integrity of various membrane systems was assessed. 51Chromium release was used to monitor plasma membrane integrity. There was no difference in chromium release by EC and pericytes over the 7 d of growth under normoxic and hyperoxic conditions. Mitochondrial integrity was examined by staining the cells with Rhodamine 123, which is selectively accumulated by the mitochondria. The staining pattern of the mitochondria of both EC and pericytes was altered by growth in the elevated oxygen. Finally, the lysosomes were visualized using acridine orange. The acridine orange staining pattern revealed enlarged and perinuclear lysosomes in the EC but no change in the pericyte lysosomal staining pattern. Thus, the cells of the microvasculature seem to be differentially affected by hyperoxia, a fact that may be significant in the etiology of reperfusion injury, ischemic disease, and pathologies associated with prematurity.