NOVEL CHARACTERIZATION OF bEnd.3 CELLS THAT EXPRESS LYMPHATIC VESSEL ENDOTHELIAL HYALURONAN RECEPTOR-1

Abstract

Murine bEnd.3 endothelioma cell line hasbeen widely used in vascular research andhere we report the novel finding that bEnd.3cells express lymphatic vessel endothelialhyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1) and vascularendothelial growth factor receptor-3(VEGFR-3). Moreover, these cells expressprogenitor cell markers of Sca-1 and CD133.Upon stimulation with tumor necrosis factoralpha(TNF-α), the bEnd.3 cells demonstrateenhanced formation of capillary-type tubes,which express LYVE-1. As the bEnd.3 cellline is derived from murine endothelioma,we further examined human tissues ofendothelioma and identified lymphatic vesselsin the tumor samples which express bothLYVE-1 and podoplanin. Moreover, a significantlyhigher number of lymphatic vesselswere detected in the endothelioma samplescompared with normal control. Taken together,this study not only redefines bEnd.3 cells forvascular research, but also indicates a broadercategory of human diseases that are associatedwith lymphatics, such as endothelioma.