Effect of hypoxia and carbon monoxide on collagen synthesis in cultured porcine and bovine aortic endothelium.

The cell layers and medium of cultured porcine and bovine aortic endothelium have been examined to test the effects of 24 h treatment with two factors associated with cigarette smoke--hypoxia and carbon monoxide, on cell numbers, total protein including collagen/10(6) cells, collagen type profile and ultrastructure. The most significant findings were that the responses varied with the species and that the effects on protein synthesis including collagen differed depending on the nature of the insult; in general, moreover carbon monoxide tended to reverse the action of hypoxia, a finding supported by ultrastructural evidence. The phenotypic collagen profiles were unaffected by either hypoxia or carbon monoxide.