©Kristinn Ingvarsson

Endothelial cells line blood vessels and their dysfunction plays a key role in acute critical illness (ACI). Adrenergic effects are importance to the pathology of ACI and damages the endothelial glycocalyx (EGL). The EGL is an extracellular luminal layer of glycoproteins and glycans on the vascular endothelium.  How the EGL is maintained, the energy required for this process and the effect of altered metabolism on EGL maintenance is unclear but relevant given the size and fragility of the EGL in human vasculature. In collaboration with Dr. Per Johansson at the Rigs Hospitalet in Copenhagen, we are working towards answering these  questions  by visualising EGL growth and maintenance, accompanied by metabolomics analysis, of endothelial cells in static and flow cell culture conditions. Endothelial dysfunction is a symptom of multiple disease types but is however particularly severe in ACI patients where outcome is influenced by plasma catecholamine levels and biomarkers of endothelial damage.

A metabolic reconstruction of endothelial metabolism.

Staining of human umbilical cord endothelial cells. The cell nucleus is in blue. The endothelial glycocalyx is cyan and imaged with an antibody specific for heparan sulfate. Negatively charged N-acetyl glucosamine and sialic acid are stained green using wheat germa agglutinin .