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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 1999;19:2330-2339.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.

Vascular Biology

An In Vitro Coculture Model of Transmigrant Monocytes and Foam Cell Formation

Mikio Takaku; Youichiro Wada; Katsunori Jinnouchi; Motohiro Takeya; Kiyoshi Takahashi; Hiroyuki Usuda; Makoto Naito; Hiroki Kurihara; Yoshio Yazaki; Yoko Kumazawa; Yuko Okimoto; Michihisa Umetani; Noriko Noguchi; Etsuo Niki; Takao Hamakubo; Tatsuhiko Kodama

From the Department of Molecular Biology and Medicine (M. Takaku, Y.W., Y.K., M.U., T.H., T.K.) and the Department of Dynamics of Life Chemistry (Y.O., N.N., E.N.), Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo; the Second Department of Pathology (K.J., M. Takeya, K.T.), Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto; the Second Department of Pathology (H.U., M.N.), Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata; the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine (Y.W., H.K., Y.Y.), Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo; and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (M. Takaku), Tokyo, Japan.

Correspondence to Tatsuhiko Kodama, Department of Molecular Biology and Medicine, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (No. 35), University of Tokyo, 4-6-1, Komba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0061, Japan. E-mail kodama{at}med.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Abstract—To analyze in vitro the migration of monocytes to the subendothelial space, their differentiation into macrophages, and the subsequent formation of foam cells in vitro, we have developed a 2-coculture system with rabbit aortic endothelial cells (AECs), aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and a mixture of matrix proteins on polyethylene filters in chemotaxis chambers. AECs were seeded on a mixture of type I and IV collagen with or without various types of serum lipoproteins (method 1) or on matrix proteins secreted by SMCs (method 2). In these coculture systems, rabbit AECs can maintain a well-preserved monolayer for up to 2 weeks. When human CD14-positive monocytes were added to the upper medium of the system, with monocyte chemotactic protein-1 treatment 60% of the monocytes transmigrated within 24 hours and were retained for up to 7 days, whereas without MCP-1 treatment, <30% of monocytes transmigrated. On day 1, transmigrant monocytes were negative for immunostaining of type I and II macrophage scavenger receptors but by day 3, became positive for scavenger receptors as well as other macrophage markers. When oxidized low density lipoprotein was added to the matrix layer of the method I coculture, on day 4 transmigrant cells exhibited lipid deposit droplets, and by day 7, they had the appearance of typical foam cells. Some of the transmigrant cells recovered in the lower medium on day 7 also appeared to be foam cells, indicating foam cell motility and escape from the coculture layer through the filter. In summary, this coculture system is a useful in vitro tool to dissect the cellular and molecular events that make up the process of foam cell formation.

Key Words: atherosclerosis • chemoattractants • macrophages • foam cells • oxidized LDLs

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