CELL CULTURE OF HUMAN UMBILICAL VEIN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS IN VITRO AND STUDY ON APOPTOSIS OF THIS TYPE OF CELLS

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were cultured in vitro and identified by observing the Weibel Palade body (W P body) which only exists in endothelial cells with electron microscope. HUVEC apoptosis, which induced by deprivation of growth factors (fibroblast growth factor and serum), was investigated by the methods of fluorescence microscopy, DNA electrophoresis, electron microscopy and flow cytometry. We found that, companing with nuclear DNA fragmentation, the ultrastructures of nucleus and cytoplasm dramatically changed. We also found that the number of cells in S phase declined dramatically while the number of cells in G2 phase increased during HUVEC apoptosis, which suggest that the cells which deprived of growth factors enter apoptosis from G2 phase of cell cycle. These researches give us basis to study the molecular mechanism of HUVEC apoptosis in the immediate future.