Migration of adult human vascular endothelial cells: effect of extracellular matrix proteins.

An ideal vascular prosthetic graft should support rapid endothelial coverage and allow maximal rates of endothelial cell migration on its surface. To study this we modified and developed a method to measure rates of migration of adult human vascular endothelial cells (AHVECs) on test surfaces using an O-ring fence technique. We measured the rates of AHVEC migration on a variety of extracellular matrix proteins of interest because of their ability to support cell attachment. AHVECs, initially constrained in rings with an area of 0.62 cm2 (day 0), were allowed to migrate radially, and area coverage was measured after 7 days. The greatest areas of migration were seen on fibronectin (1.20 cm2) and gelatin (1.29 cm2) when compared with control (polystyrene [0.97 cm2]), p less than 0.01, p less than 0.05. Migration on laminin and prepared extracellular matrix from AHVEC was not statistically different from that of controls. Of extracellular matrix proteins studied in our system, a gelatin substrate in the presence of serum resulted in maximal rates of AHVEC migration.