Non-specific pinocytosis by human endothelial cells cultured as multicellular aggregates: uptake of lucifer yellow and horse radish peroxidase.

We have analyzed the pattern of time-dependent and concentration-dependent incorporation of Lucifer Yellow CH (LY) and Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) by human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured on a non-adhesive substratum, where they they become organized into stable, multicellular aggregates. The data were compared with those previously obtained from low-density cultures of non-growing endothelial cells adherent to plastic. While the linear trend of the incorporation kinetics is preserved, the rate of uptake with both time and concentrations is highly dependent on the culture conditions, namely typology of cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions. An at least two-fold increase of the rate of uptake was observed with both markers in the aggregated cells. The extracellular concentration of LY required to saturate the binding capacity of the cell surface shifts from approximately 0.25 mg/ml, with the adherent cells, to approximately 0.5 mg/ml in the aggregated cells; the rate of uptake of three different forms of HRP shows, besides a sharp quantitative increase, also qualitative variations, testified by differential changes of their incorporation rates. These results are entirely consistent with the assumption that the association of the endothelial cells into multicellular aggregates increases the rate of pinocytic uptake by modifying the physicochemical properties of the cell surface, thereby increasing its differential affinity for the extracellular markers.