ABSTRACT
Objective To establish a simple and efficient method for isolation and culture of adult rat cardiac micro-vascular endothelial cells. Methods Wistar rats were anesthetized and thoracotomy was performed. Cardiac micro-vascular endothelial cells were isolated by heart perfusion and enzyme digestion. The morphology and growth curve of the third generation cells were examined by inverted microscopy. Its molecular markers factor Ⅷ-related antigen and CD31 were detected by immunocytochemistry and immunofluoresence. The angiogenic ability was examined by matrigel. Results The primary cultured cardiac microvascular endothelial cells in vitro were polygonal or fusiform with typical paving stone-like growth characteristics. At the same time,the cells were positive stained by factorⅧ-related antigen and CD31 and showed angiogenic ability. Conclusions Cardiac microvascular endothelial cells cul-tured by this method possess high purity. The method is easy to operate and can be used for laboratory and clinical research of cardiovascular diseases.