Tomato extract and the carotenoids lycopene and lutein improve endothelial function and attenuate inflammatory NF-κB signaling in endothelial cells.

Objectives: In our previous research the antihypertensive properties of lycopene-containing tomato oleoresin have been revealed. The present study was aimed to assess if oleoresin interferes in the inflammatory signalling in endothelial cells, imitating reduction of inflammatory processes in the vessel wall and in this way to propose the mechanism for the reduction of blood pressure by oleoresin.

Methods And Results: A wide number of functional and inflammatory markers were investigated in two cultured endothelial cell models [EA.

A multi-shear perfusion bioreactor for investigating shear stress effects in endothelial cell constructs.

Tissue engineering research is increasingly relying on the use of advanced cultivation technologies that provide rigorously-controlled cell microenvironments. Herein, we describe the features of a micro-fabricated Multi-Shear Perfusion Bioreactor (MSPB) designed to deliver up to six different levels of physiologically-relevant shear stresses (1-13 dyne cm(-2)) to six cell constructs simultaneously, during a single run. To attain a homogeneous fluid flow within each construct, flow-distributing nets photo-etched with a set of openings for fluid flow were placed up- and down-stream from each construct.