Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.

Brain microvascular endothelial cells, forming the anatomical site of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), are widely used as in vitro complements to in vivo BBB studies. Among the immortalized cells used as in vitro BBB models, the murine-derived bEnd.3 cells offer culturing consistency and low cost and...

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Main Authors: Jiahong Sun, Weijun Ou, Derick Han, Annlia Paganini-Hill, Mark J Fisher, Rachita K Sumbria
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268860
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author Jiahong Sun
Weijun Ou
Derick Han
Annlia Paganini-Hill
Mark J Fisher
Rachita K Sumbria
author_facet Jiahong Sun
Weijun Ou
Derick Han
Annlia Paganini-Hill
Mark J Fisher
Rachita K Sumbria
author_sort Jiahong Sun
collection DOAJ
description Brain microvascular endothelial cells, forming the anatomical site of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), are widely used as in vitro complements to in vivo BBB studies. Among the immortalized cells used as in vitro BBB models, the murine-derived bEnd.3 cells offer culturing consistency and low cost and are well characterized for functional and transport assays, but result in low transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). Human-induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated into brain microvascular endothelial cells (ihBMECs) have superior barrier properties, but the process of differentiation is time-consuming and can result in mixed endothelial-epithelial gene expression. Here we performed a side-by-side comparison of the ihBMECs and bEnd.3 cells for key paracellular diffusional transport characteristics. The TEER across the ihBMECs was 45- to 68-fold higher than the bEnd.3 monolayer. The ihBMECs had significantly lower tracer permeability than the bEnd.3 cells. Both, however, could discriminate between the paracellular permeabilities of two tracers: sodium fluorescein (MW: 376 Da) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran (MW: 70 kDa). FITC-dextran permeability was a strong inverse-correlate of TEER in the bEnd.3 cells, whereas sodium fluorescein permeability was a strong inverse-correlate of TEER in the ihBMECs. Both bEnd.3 cells and ihBMECs showed the typical cobblestone morphology with robust uptake of acetylated LDL and strong immuno-positivity for vWF. Both models showed strong claudin-5 expression, albeit with differences in expression location. We further confirmed the vascular endothelial- (CD31 and tube-like formation) and erythrophagocytic-phenotypes and the response to inflammatory stimuli of ihBMECs. Overall, both bEnd.3 cells and ihBMECs express key brain endothelial phenotypic markers, and despite differential TEER measurements, these in vitro models can discriminate between the passage of different molecular weight tracers. Our results highlight the need to corroborate TEER measurements with different molecular weight tracers and that the bEnd.3 cells may be suitable for large molecule transport studies despite their low TEER.
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spelling doaj.art-7ad9fef018b1419183109d83c07cf1142023-05-24T05:32:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01175e026886010.1371/journal.pone.0268860Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.Jiahong SunWeijun OuDerick HanAnnlia Paganini-HillMark J FisherRachita K SumbriaBrain microvascular endothelial cells, forming the anatomical site of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), are widely used as in vitro complements to in vivo BBB studies. Among the immortalized cells used as in vitro BBB models, the murine-derived bEnd.3 cells offer culturing consistency and low cost and are well characterized for functional and transport assays, but result in low transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). Human-induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated into brain microvascular endothelial cells (ihBMECs) have superior barrier properties, but the process of differentiation is time-consuming and can result in mixed endothelial-epithelial gene expression. Here we performed a side-by-side comparison of the ihBMECs and bEnd.3 cells for key paracellular diffusional transport characteristics. The TEER across the ihBMECs was 45- to 68-fold higher than the bEnd.3 monolayer. The ihBMECs had significantly lower tracer permeability than the bEnd.3 cells. Both, however, could discriminate between the paracellular permeabilities of two tracers: sodium fluorescein (MW: 376 Da) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran (MW: 70 kDa). FITC-dextran permeability was a strong inverse-correlate of TEER in the bEnd.3 cells, whereas sodium fluorescein permeability was a strong inverse-correlate of TEER in the ihBMECs. Both bEnd.3 cells and ihBMECs showed the typical cobblestone morphology with robust uptake of acetylated LDL and strong immuno-positivity for vWF. Both models showed strong claudin-5 expression, albeit with differences in expression location. We further confirmed the vascular endothelial- (CD31 and tube-like formation) and erythrophagocytic-phenotypes and the response to inflammatory stimuli of ihBMECs. Overall, both bEnd.3 cells and ihBMECs express key brain endothelial phenotypic markers, and despite differential TEER measurements, these in vitro models can discriminate between the passage of different molecular weight tracers. Our results highlight the need to corroborate TEER measurements with different molecular weight tracers and that the bEnd.3 cells may be suitable for large molecule transport studies despite their low TEER.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268860
spellingShingle Jiahong Sun
Weijun Ou
Derick Han
Annlia Paganini-Hill
Mark J Fisher
Rachita K Sumbria
Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.
PLoS ONE
title Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.
title_full Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.
title_fullStr Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.
title_full_unstemmed Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.
title_short Comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport.
title_sort comparative studies between the murine immortalized brain endothelial cell line bend 3 and induced pluripotent stem cell derived human brain endothelial cells for paracellular transport
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268860
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