| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2201949 | Neurochemistry International | 2008 | 6 Pages |
An improved method is described for culturing primary rat brain capillary endothelial cells (RBCEC) on glass, covered by Matrigel. The procedure using Matrigel yields spindle-shaped endothelial cells exhibiting close cell–cell appositions seen on electron microscopic sections. These cells permanently express tight junction proteins ZO-1, claudin-5 and the adherent junction protein β-catenin, as revealed by immunofluorescence. Furthermore, glass coverslips covered with Matrigel provide a stable and low-background fluorescent base for microfluorimetric calcium measurements. By this method, hereby we show that the PAR-4 agonist peptide induces transient [Ca2+]i changes with different kinetics compared to that due to activation of the PAR-1 receptor. This indicates that RBCE cells grown on Matrigel express PAR-4 receptors.
