Blood flow velocity is reduced in a tumor micro-dissemination in the visceral pleura in anesthetized open-chest rat lung.

Background: Recently we developed a method to observe pulmonary micrometastasis by labeling cancer cells with green fluorescent protein (GFP). We applied the method for observation of micro-dissemination on the visceral pleura.

Materials And Methods: RCN9 rat colon cancer cells labeled with GFP were injected into the pleural cavity of Fischer F344 rats.

Effects of oncostatin M on secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor and reconstruction of liver-like structure by fetal liver cells in monolayer and three-dimensional cultures.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is crucial for the development and regeneration of the liver. However, there have been no reports about VEGF secretion by cultured fetal liver cells (FLCs). In the present study, the effects of oncostatin M (OSM), which strongly stimulates the growth and albumin secretion of FLCs, on VEGF secretion and morphological changes of long-term cultured FLCs were investigated under three-dimensional (3-D) and monolayer conditions.

Endovascular stent configuration affects intraluminal flow dynamics and in vitro endothelialization.

Neointimal hyperplasia influenced by intravascular hemodynamics is considered partly responsible for restenosis after endovascular stenting. To evaluate the effect of stent configuration on fluid flow behavior, we visualized flow near stents, and measured the proliferation of cultured endothelial cells (ECs). A single-coil stent (coil pitch; CP = 2.

Evaluation of polydimethylsiloxane scaffolds with physiologically-relevant elastic moduli: interplay of substrate mechanics and surface chemistry effects on vascular smooth muscle cell response.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is used extensively to study cell-substrate interactions because its mechanical properties are easily tuned in physiologically relevant ranges. However, changes in mechanical properties also modulate surface chemistry and cell response. Here, we correlate the mechanical and surface properties of PDMS to vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) behavior.

Especially polymorphonuclear leukocytes, but also monomorphonuclear leukocytes, roll spontaneously in venules of intact rat skin: involvement of E-selectin.

White blood cells roll spontaneously in venules of intact, noninflamed rat skin. We investigated noninvasively in two experimental series which leukocyte subtypes participate in this phenomenon and the possible involvement of E-selectin. Male Lewis rats were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital, and intravital video microscopy was performed on postcapillary venules in the nail-fold of a hind leg.