Similar Endothelial Glycocalyx Structures in Microvessels from a Range of Mammalian Tissues: Evidence for a Common Filtering Mechanism? (original) (raw)
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Journal of Structural Biology, 2001
The luminal surface of endothelial cells is lined with the glycocalyx, a network structure of glycoproteins probably 50 to 100 nm thick. It has been suggested that a relatively regular fibre-matrix structure may be responsible for the ultrafiltration properties of microvascular walls, both when the endothelium is continuous and when it is fenestrated. Positive structural evidence demonstrating an underlying periodicity in the glycocalyx has been hard to obtain. Here we present structural analysis of glycocalyx samples prepared in a variety of ways for electron microscopy. Using computed autocorrelation functions and Fourier transforms of representative areas of the electron micrograph images, we show that there is an underlying threedimensional fibrous meshwork within the glycocalyx with characteristic spacings of about 20 nm. Together with a fibre diameter consistent with our observations of about 10 -12 nm, the 20-nm spacing provides just the size regime to account satisfactorily for the observed molecular filtering; the observations are consistent with the fibre matrix model. We also show that the fibrous elements may occur in clusters with a common intercluster spacing of about 100 nm and speculate that this may reveal organisation of the glycocalyx by a quasi-regular submembranous cytoskeletal scaffold. © 2001 Elsevier Science (USA)
Quantification of the endothelial surface glycocalyx on rat and mouse blood vessels
Microvascular Research, 2012
The glycocalyx on the surface of endothelium lining blood vessel walls modulates vascular barrier function, cell adhesion and also serves as a mechano-sensor for blood flow. Reduction of glycocalyx has been reported in many diseases including atherosclerosis, inflammation, myocardial edema, and diabetes. The surface glycocalyx layer (SGL) is composed of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans, of which heparan sulfate is one of the most abundant. To quantify the SGL thickness on the microvessels of rat mesentery and mouse cremaster muscle in situ, we applied a single vessel cannulation and perfusion technique to directly inject FITC-antiheparan sulfate into a group of microvessels for immuno-labeling the SGL. We also used antiheparan sulfate for immuno-labeling the SGL on rat and mouse aortas ex vivo. High resolution confocal microscopy revealed that the thickness of the SGL on rat mesenteric capillaries and postcapillary venules is 0.9 ± 0.1 μm and 1.2 ± 0.3 μm, respectively; while the thickness of the SGL on mouse cremaster muscle capillaries and post-capillary venules is 1.5 ± 0.1 μm and 1.5 ± 0.2 μm, respectively. Surprisingly, there was no detectable SGL in either rat mesenteric or mouse cremaster muscle arterioles. The SGL thickness is 2.5 ± 0.1 μm and 2.1 ± 0.2 μm respectively, on rat and mouse aorta. In addition, we observed that the SGL is continuously and evenly distributed on the aorta wall but not on the microvessel wall.
The glycocalyx of human, bovine and murine microvascular endothelial cells cultured in vitro
Journal of Electron Microscopy, 2010
This study investigated the morphology and thickness of the glycocalyx linings of microvascular endothelial cells (MVEC). Three distinct cell types were used: the human dermal cells (HDMVEC), the murine cardiac cells (MCMVEC) and the bovine luteal cells (BLMVEC). Cells were cultivated for 48 h. Glycocalyx was stained with ruthenium red and examined under a transmission electron microscope. The glycocalyx of HDMVEC was thin and constant (10-22 nm). No glycocalyx was detected within intracellular vesicles. Two cell populations of MCMVEC were recorded. The minor MCMVEC population was well differentiated and covered with heterogenous glycocalyx (2-200 nm). Conglomerates formed above the baseline along the cell extensions. The major MCMVEC population was undifferentiated and coated by a smooth and thin (12-25 nm) layer of glycocalyx. Intracellular vesicles were also coated with glycocalyx. In the BLMVEC population, 10% had 3-170 nm of discontinuous glycocalyx. Rough conglomerates were observed along cell sprouts. Their intracellular vesicles were coated with glycocalyx. The study found vast differences in the morphology and thickness of endothelial glycocalyx among different MVEC under in vitro cultivation. The only record of active endocytosis was in BLMVEC and MCMVEC.
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2008
A mathematical model is presented for steady fluid flow across microvessel walls through a serial pathway consisting of the endothelial surface glycocalyx and the intercellular cleft between adjacent endothelial cells, with junction strands and their discontinuous gaps. The three-dimensional flow through the pathway from the vessel lumen to the tissue space has been computed numerically based on a Brinkman equation with appropriate values of the Darcy permeability. The predicted values of the hydraulic conductivityLp, defined as the ratio of the flow rate per unit surface area of the vessel wall to the pressure drop across it, are close to experimental measurements for rat mesentery microvessels. If the values of the Darcy permeability for the surface glycocalyx are determined based on the regular arrangements of fibres with 6 nm radius and 8 nm spacing proposed recently from the detailed structural measurements, then the present study suggests that the surface glycocalyx could be m...
Electron microscopic evaluation of the endothelial surface layer of glomerular capillaries
Microvascular Research, 2004
Recent data from various vascular beds suggest that a layer of mucopolysaccharides covering the endothelial cells play an important role in transport processes, among others. In this study, electron microscopy (EM) was used to explore the presence of an endothelial surface layer (ESL) in rat glomerular capillaries. We adopted various fixation and labeling techniques, as follows: (1) negatively charged lipid particles were used as a tracer that was expected to be excluded from the ESL. The density of intravascular lipid particles in flow-arrested capillaries was 89% lower in a 200-nm periendothelial area than in the rest of the luminal space (n = 6 rats, P < 0.001); (2) podocytes of cryofixed fresh tissue had a 20-nm extramembranous coat, interpreted as the true glycocalyx; the coat was less expressed on the endothelium; (3) on unfixed endothelial cells, colloidal lanthanum labeled a 60-nm-thick layer, occasionally forming lumps; (4) perfusion with a fluorocarbon-based oxygen-carrying fixative, followed by tannic acid contrast enhancement, revealed an extensive (> 200 nm) ESL not previously described; however, this finding was restricted to superficial glomerular capillaries; (5) Cupromeronic Blue cytochemistry displayed a loose proteoglycan network in fenestral openings and, occasionally, a semiordered ESL; (6) ferricyanide-reduced osmication resulted in increased numbers of fenestral diaphragms. In conclusion, this study provides novel morphological evidence to support the presence of a significant glomerular ESL.
The Structural Stability of the Endothelial Glycocalyx after Enzymatic Removal of Glycosaminoglycans
PLoS ONE, 2012
Rationale: It is widely believed that glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and bound plasma proteins form an interconnected gel-like structure on the surface of endothelial cells (the endothelial glycocalyx layer-EGL) that is stabilized by the interaction of its components. However, the structural organization of GAGs and proteins and the contribution of individual components to the stability of the EGL are largely unknown. Objective: To evaluate the hypothesis that the interconnected gel-like glycocalyx would collapse when individual GAG components were almost completely removed by a specific enzyme. Methods and Results: Using confocal microscopy, we observed that the coverage and thickness of heparan sulfate (HS), chondroitin sulfate (CS), hyaluronic acid (HA), and adsorbed albumin were similar, and that the thicknesses of individual GAGs were spatially nonuniform. The individual GAGs were degraded by specific enzymes in a dose-dependent manner, and decreased much more in coverage than in thickness. Removal of HS or HA did not result in cleavage or collapse of any of the remaining components. Simultaneous removal of CS and HA by chondroitinase did not affect HS, but did reduce adsorbed albumin, although the effect was not large. All GAGs and adsorbed proteins are well inter-mixed within the structure of the EGL, but the GAG components do not interact with one another. The GAG components do provide binding sites for albumin. Our results provide a new view of the organization of the endothelial glycocalyx layer and provide the first demonstration of the interaction between individual GAG components.
The Structure and Function of the Endothelial Glycocalyx Layer
Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 2007
Over the past decade, since it was first observed in vivo, there has been an explosion in interest in the thin (∼500 nm), gel-like endothelial glycocalyx layer (EGL) that coats the luminal surface of blood vessels. In this review, we examine the mechanical and biochemical properties of the EGL and the latest studies on the interactions of this layer with red and white blood cells. This includes its deformation owing to fluid shear stress, its penetration by leukocyte microvilli, and its restorative response after the passage of a white cell in a tightly fitting capillary. We also examine recently discovered functions of the EGL in modulating the oncotic forces that regulate the exchange of water in microvessels and the role of the EGL in transducing fluid shear stress into the intracellular cytoskeleton of endothelial cells, in the initiation of intracellular signaling, and in the inflammatory response.
Endothelial glycocalyx: sweet shield of blood vessels
Trends in cardiovascular medicine, 2007
At the time that the term glycocalyx ("sweet husk") was introduced as a description of the extracellular polysaccharide coating on cells (Bennett HS: 1963. Morphological aspects of extracellular polysaccharides. J Hist Cytochem 11:14-23.), early electron microscopic observations had shown that anionic polysaccharides were also presented by the inner surface of blood vessels but the length of these structures was considered to be small and their functional significance was unknown. Research in the past decades in the glycocalyx field has evolved, and recent estimations indicate that the endothelial glycocalyx constitutes a voluminous intravascular compartment that plays an important role in vascular wall homeostasis. Pathologic loss of glycocalyx may be associated with an impaired vascular wall protection throughout the circulatory system, whereas agonist-induced modulation of glycocalyx accessibility for circulating blood may constitute a physiologically relevant mechanism...
3D Reconstruction of the Glycocalyx Structure in Mammalian Capillaries using Electron Tomography
Microcirculation, 2012
Visualising the molecular strands making up the glycocalyx in the lumen of small blood vessels has proved to be difficult using conventional transmission electron microscopy techniques. Images obtained from tissue stained in a variety of ways have revealed a regularity in the organisation of the proteoglycan components of the glycocalyx layer (fundamental spacing about 20 nm), but require a large sample number. Attempts to visualise the glycocalyx face-on (i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the endothelial cell layer in the lumen and directly applicable for permeability modelling) has had limited success (e.g. freeze fracture). A new approach is therefore needed. Here we demonstrate the effectiveness of using the relatively novel electron microscopy technique of 3D electron tomography on two differently stained preparations to reveal details of the architecture of the glycocalyx just above the endothelial cell layer. One preparation uses the novel staining technique using Lanthanum Dysprosium Glycosamino Glycan adhesion (the LaDy GAGa method).
Endothelial glycoconjugates: a comparative lectin study of the brain, retina and myocardium
Journal of Anatomy, 2000
There is evidence that the endothelial cell (EC) glycocalyx is a significant determinant of vascular permeability, acting as a charge-size filter to permeant molecules. We have therefore examined its oligosaccharide composition in 3 classes of microvessel with differing permeabilities. EC in rat brain, retina and myocardium were labelled with a panel of lectins and subjected to a semiquantitative analysis. Surprisingly, no substantial differences were evident for any lectin labelling between the 3 microvessel types despite their marked morphophysiological diversity. In particular, all showed substantial sialic acid expression, with Maackia amurensis (MAA) labelling sialic acid in an α2-3 linkage to β-galactose and Sambucus nigra (SNA) recognising sialic acid in an α2-6 linkage to β-galactose. Arachis hypogaea (PNA) binding after neuraminidase digestion indicated the presence of Gal β1-3GalNAc attached to terminal sialic acid. The results therefore show that the sequences NeuNAc α2-3Gal β1-3GalNAc and NeuNAc α2-6Gal β1-3GalNAc are strongly expressed in the 3 microvessel types irrespective of their permeability properties. This homogeneity suggests that these lectin ligands may be involved in a common set of EC functions, e.g. cell :cell and cell :matrix interactions. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that glycocalyx differences may exist between vessels in the paracellular cleft which may alter its filtration properties.