Isolation and culture of bovine intracranial arterial endothelial cells.

We report a simple explant technique to isolate and propagate endothelial cells from bovine cerebral arteries. The endothelial nature of the cells was confirmed by the presence of Factor VIII/von Willebrand antigen, the ability to phagocytize low-density lipoprotein, and the ability to be induced to express E-selectin. The lack of expression of the CD11c antigen and the absence of smooth muscle alpha-actin immunofluorescence suggested that the cultures were not contaminated with macrophages or smooth muscle cells, respectively. This technique yields pure cerebral arterial endothelial cell cultures, which will be of value for in vitro investigation of cerebrovascular physiology and disease processes.