在建構人造血管時，基底膜的存在可以幫助內皮層的形成。羊膜可提供一個天然的基底膜，並且已經被應用在眼角膜的重建上。本實驗的目的，在於了解豬的動脈內皮細胞培養在羊膜上後，其分子及細胞的特性。內皮細胞培養在羊膜上時，可以表現出正常的細胞型態，並具有正常的vonWillebrand factor表現。在此，我們證明羊膜可以促進細胞表現細胞間連結分子PECAM-1 及VE-cadherin；同時當細胞培養在羊膜上時，integrin的表現量亦有顯著的增加。此外，羊膜會降低細胞內E-selectin 及P-selectin的表現，不論細胞是否經過LPS的處理；羊膜並可以降低白血球沾黏在內皮細胞上的數量。我們的結果證明了羊膜是一個良好的基質，可用於在人工血管的建構中，建立一個有功能的內皮層。 The existing of basement membrane improves the development of endothelium while constructing blood vessel equivalent. The amniotic membrane (AM) provides a natural basement membrane and has been used in ocular surface reconstruction. This study evaluated the molecular and cellular characteristics of porcine vascular endothelial cells (ECs) cultured on AM. ECs cultured on AM expressed the endothelial marker vWF and exhibited normal endothelial morphology. Here, we demonstrated that AM enhanced the expression of intercellular molecules, platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), and adhesion molecule VE-cadherin at the intercellular junctions. The expression level of integrin was markedly higher in ECs cultured on AM than on plastic dish. Furthermore, the AM downregulated the expression of E-selectin and P-selectin in both LPS-activated and non-activated ECs. Consistently, adhesion of leukocytes to both activated and non-activated cells was decreased in ECs cultured on AM. Our results suggest that AM is an ideal matrix to develop a functional endothelium in blood vessel equivalent construction.
