An efficient and non-enzymatic method for isolation and culture of endothelial cells from the nidus of human cerebral arteriovenous malformations

•Notch-1 signaling pathway in endothelial cells from AVM nidus was activated.•Hypoxic endothelial cells from AVM nidus had angiogenic potentials.•We created a non-enzymatic method to isolate endothelial cells from AVM nidus.

In this report, we describe an efficient and non-enzymatic method for isolating and culturing endothelial cells (ECs) from the nidus of surgically resected arteriovenous malformation (AVM) specimens. These cultured cells possessed typical phenotypic markers (i.e. von Willebrand factor and CD34), as well as morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of ECs. However, they had activated Notch-1 signaling, which plays a critical role in the development of AVM. The present study suggests that hypoxic endothelial cells from the nidus of human cerebral arteriovenous malformation (CAVMECs) have angiogenic potentials, as our data showed that VEGF gene expression and cell proliferation were more evident with prolonged hypoxia. In our study, we successfully used the vascular tissue explants adherent method to isolate and culture CAVMECs with high purity. This may prove to be a useful tool for studying the molecular mechanisms that mediate abnormal vessel development and maintenance in AVM.