Human Internal Thoracic Endothelial Cells: HITAEC (L) immunolabeled for vWF (green) and CD31/PECAM (red) (M). Nuclei visualized with PI (red) (R).
Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells: HITAEC
Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) are specialized primary cells isolated from the tunica intima of the human internal thoracic artery (ITA), also known as the internal mammary artery.
Description
Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) are specialized primary cells isolated from the tunica intima of the human internal thoracic artery (ITA), also known as the internal mammary artery. These cells serve as a selective barrier and are widely studied due to the ITA’s recognized clinical durability and relative resistance to certain vascular diseases compared to other conduit arteries. HITAEC are found in the innermost layer of the internal thoracic arteries, which run along the interior of the chest wall within the thoracic cavity near the sternum. Because the ITA is associated with a lower clinical incidence of atherosclerosis than many other vessels and maintains excellent long-term patency in bypass grafting, it is considered a preferred conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to restore blood flow to the heart, with endothelial phenotype representing one of several contributing factors.
To ensure reproducibility and cellular health, researchers typically follow a standardized protocol and maintain strict terms regarding culture conditions specified by the manufacturer, ensuring that each endothelial cell type does not exceed the recommended passage limit. While primary vascular endothelial monocultures are distinct from specialized neural cells like neurons, researchers often evaluate findings across the broader literature to optimize their experimental designs.
Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) exhibit robust endothelial function and maintain a phenotype that supports the unique longevity of the ITA:
- Selective Permeability: These cells regulate the movement of nutrients and blood components into the vessel wall. Their transport characteristics are associated with controlled permeability and vessel wall function.
- Vascular Protection: The resistance of the ITA to disease is multifactorial, involving favorable hemodynamics, structural vessel wall properties, and local cellular factors. Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) are associated with an anti-thrombotic endothelium phenotype and often demonstrate NO-associated signaling pathways contributing to vascular protection and vasodilatory capacity.
- Immune Interaction: Like other endothelial beds, Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) interact with circulating immune cells. Researchers use these cells to investigate how the endothelium manages immune cell migration and responds to various inflammatory signals or pathogens that may enter the systemic circulation.
Researchers utilize Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) to understand both the mechanisms of vascular resilience and the pathways of systemic disease:
- Atherosclerosis Resistance: Scientists study Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) to identify the molecular pathways and expression patterns that correlate with the internal thoracic artery’s relative protection against atherosclerosis. By comparing HITAEC to more susceptible vessels, such as the femoral or coronary arteries, researchers seek to identify targets for novel disease treatments.
- Endothelial–Immune Interactions: Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) serve as a model for studying how the vascular lining interacts with dendritic cells and other leukocytes. This includes examining how specific chemokines or receptors facilitate the migration of immune cells through the endothelial layer in response to various stimuli.
- Bypass Graft Physiology: Given the ITA’s role in surgery, Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) provide a useful in vitro model for investigating how conduit endothelium adapts to altered hemodynamic forces and mechanical environments following coronary revascularization.
Human Internal Thoracic Artery Endothelial Cells (HITAEC) from Cell Applications, Inc. have been used to
- Investigate how oral pathogens travel through the body by infecting dendritic cells and inducing them to migrate through endothelial layers by causing upregulation of CXCR4
- Identify genes that make Human Internal Thoracic Arteries resistant to atherosclerosis
Additionally, HITAEC and HCAEC (also obtained from Cell Applications, Inc. but derived from the athero-prone human coronary arteries) were subjected to microarray analysis. Twenty-nine genes were found to be expressed differently between HITAEC and HCAEC; one of them (TES) was shown to be downregulated in patients with coronary artery disease, resulting in increased monocyte adhesion, endothelial cell motility and transendothelial migration of monocytes.
Details
| Tissue | Normal healthy human mammary artery | |
|---|---|---|
| QC | No bacteria, yeast, fungi, mycoplasma, virus | |
| Character | Factor VIII-related Ag & DiI-Ac-LDL uptake | |
| Bioassay | Attach, spread, proliferate in Growth Med | |
| Cryovial | 500,000 HITAEC (2nd psg) frozen in Basal Medium w/ 10% FBS, 10% DMSO | |
| Kit | Cryovial frozen HITAEC (308-05a), Growth Medium (212-500), Subculture Rgnt Kit (090K) | |
| Proliferating | Shipped in Gr Med, 3rd psg (flasks or plates) | |
| Doublings | At least 10 | |
| Applications | Laboratory research use only (RUO). Not for human, clinical, diagnostic or veterinary use. |
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