Lysosomal glycosphingolipid storage in chloroquine-induced alpha-galactosidase-deficient human endothelial cells with transformation by simian virus 40: in vitro model of Fabry disease.

Human umbilical venous endothelial cells were transformed with a temperature-sensitive mutant of simian virus 40, tsA640, and a cell line, subcultured for over 20 serial passages, was established at a temperature permissive for the virus. Treatment of transformed endothelium with 3 micrograms/ml chloroquine caused a specific reduction of alpha-galactosidase activity, without cell injury, and revealed several electron-dense materials surrounded by single unit membranes. Crystalline lamellae in lysosomes with a periodicity of 6.5 nm, which are typically seen in various tissues in Fabry disease, were produced in the presence of a glycosphingolipid mixture. These cells should be useful for in vitro pathophysiological studies on Fabry endothelium.