We successfully isolated human lymphatic endothelial cells from afferent lymph vessels (HALEC) of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer by using trypsin digestion. The cells were cultured in EGM-2 medium with 10% FBS under the condition of 5% O2, 5% CO2, and 90% N2 at 37°C. The cultured cells exhibited a monolayer with cobblestone appearance and a marked phagocytosis of Dil-Ac-LDL. Immunohistochemical lymphatic vessel markers were also found, such as podoplanin, LYVE-1, VEGF receptor 3, and Prox-1. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis also showed that podoplanin, VEGF R3, and Prox-1 mRNA were expressed more selectively in the cultured cells.
The cells had marked immunoreactivity to antisera of ecNOS, iNOS, COX1, and weak reactivity of COX2. Constitutively expressed cell-type specific genes of the cultured cells were also analyzed by oligonucleotide microarray methods. Compared with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), the cells selectively expressed 88 known genes such as angiopoietin-like 4, oxygen radicals-related enzymes, and adhesion molecules and the related proteoglycans. The findings suggest that the cultured cells seem to be human lymphatic endothelial cells. In conclusion, the isolated, cannulated and enzymatic digested method we adopted for culture of human lymphatic endothelial cells may be easy and useful for investigating cellular, molecular biological, and genomic properties of the cells.
