Studying Compound Mediated Effects on Primary Cultured Endothelial and Epithelial Cells
Time-resolved monitoring of the transepithelial electrical resistance
(TER) of primary cultured endothelial cells derived from porcine brain
microvessels, incubated in serum-free medium supplemented with
hydrocortisone (orange curve) and without hydrocortisone (blue curve):
the experimental data reveal that the TER of the confluent cell layer
increases with time in the presence of hydrocortisone. This effect is
attributed to a pronounced barrier strengthening of the cerebral
endothelial cells.
Time-resolved monitoring of the capacitance (Ccl) of
primary cultured epithelial cells derived from porcine choroid plexus,
incubated in serum-free medium (orange curve) and in serum-containing
medium (blue curve): choroid plexus epithelial cells develop longer and
more densely packed microvilli on their apical surface when incubated
in a serum-free medium. This differentiation process leads to an
increase of the capacitance of the confluent cell layer and can thus be
followed noninvasively in situ.
Graphs adapted from Wegener et al., BioTechniques 37, 590 (2004).