Isolation and culture of vascular smooth muscle cells from rat placenta

In this study, we described a simple and efficient method for isolating placental vascular smooth muscle cells (PVSMCs) from rat. The method used the magnetic force between a magnet and ferrous ferric oxide (Fe304) to make the separation and extraction of VSMC. The cells isolated using this protocol were identified as smooth muscle cells (SMCs) by immunoreactivity to the SMC markers and by the “hill and valley” morphology. AbstractWe developed a new separation method for isolating placental vascular smooth muscle cells (PVSMCs) from a rat in this study. Our method used the magnetic force between a magnet and ferrous ferric oxide (Fe3O4) to make the separation and extraction processes easier and more efficient. From the first to sixth generation, the cells isolated using this protocol were identified as smooth muscle cells (SMCs) by their immunoreactivity to the SMC markers and by the “hill and valley” morphology. PVSMCs were exposed to angiotensin II (1 μmol/L) and resulted in sharply increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Furthermore, activation of  protein kinase C (PKC) increased concomitantly with a decrease in calponin expression. These results indicate that the isolated cells had biological activity. Our method of isolating PVSMCs from rat leads to isolation of cultured cells with activity and high purity. The approach will be useful in research studies on placental vascular diseases.

Source: Journal of Cellular Physiology - November 27, 2018 Category: Cytology Authors: Chunyu He, Meili Wang, Zi Yan, Suli Zhang, Huirong Liu Tags: FROM THE BENCH Source Type: research