Bovine Organospecific Microvascular Endothelial Cell Lines as New and Relevant In Vitro Models to Study Viral Infections

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 21; no. 15; p. 5249
• Main Authors: Lagrée, Anne-Claire, Fasani, Fabienne, Rouxel, Clotilde, Pivet, Marine, Pourcelot, Marie, Fablet, Aurore, Romey, Aurore, Caignard, Grégory, Vitour, Damien, Blaise-Boisseau, Sandra, Kieda, Claudine, Boulouis, Henri-Jean, Haddad, Nadia, Grillon, Catherine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24.07.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; Animals; Antiangiogenics; Antigen T (large); Biochemistry; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Biotechnology; Bluetongue; Brain research; Cancer; Cattle; cattle diseases; Cell Behavior; Cell Line; Cellular Biology; Dermatology; Endothelial cells; Endothelial Cells - metabolism; Endothelial Cells - pathology; Endothelial Cells - virology; endothelium organospecificity; Flow cytometry; Foot & mouth disease; Gene expression; Homeostasis; Host-pathogen interactions; Human health and pathology; immortalization; In vivo methods and tests; Infections; Life Sciences; Lymphatic system; Microorganisms; Microvasculature; Microvessels - metabolism; Microvessels - pathology; Microvessels - virology; Models, Biological; Nitric oxide; Organs; Ovaries; Pathogens; Permeability; Permissivity; Phenotypic variations; Selectivity; Subcellular Processes; Transfection; Umbilical cord; Vectors (Biology); Veterinary medicine; Viral infections; Virus Diseases; Viruses; cattle diseases; host-pathogen interactions; viruses; immortalization; endothelium organospecificity; microvasculature
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms21155249

Microvascular endothelial cells constitute potential targets for exogenous microorganisms, in particular for vector-borne pathogens. Their phenotypic and functional variations according to the organs they are coming from provide an explanation of the organ selectivity expressed in vivo by pathogens. In order to make available relevant tools for in vitro studies of infection mechanisms, our aim was to immortalize bovine organospecific endothelial cells but also to assess their permissivity to viral infection. Using transfection with SV40 large T antigen, six bovine microvascular endothelial cell lines from various organs and one macrovascular cell line from an umbilical cord were established. They display their own panel of endothelial progenitor/mature markers, as assessed by flow cytometry and RT-qPCR, as well as the typical angiogenesis capacity. Using both Bluetongue and foot-and-mouth disease viruses, we demonstrate that some cell lines are preferentially infected. In addition, they can be transfected and are able to express viral proteins such as BTV8-NS3. Such microvascular endothelial cell lines bring innovative tools for in vitro studies of infection by viruses or bacteria, allowing for the study of host-pathogen interaction mechanisms with the actual in vivo target cells. They are also suitable for applications linked to microvascularization, such as anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor research, growing fields in veterinary medicine.