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Endocytosis and exocytosis of protein in capillary endothelium
Author(s) -
Williams Stuart K.,
Greener Deborah A.,
Solenski Nina J.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.1041200208
Subject(s) - endocytosis , exocytosis , transcytosis , endothelium , ovalbumin , vesicle , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , biophysics , biology , biochemistry , secretion , membrane , receptor , immunology , antigen , endocrinology
The transport of proteins across continuous capillary endothelium is believed to be mediated by micropinocytic vesicles which shuttle molecules between the lumenal and abluminal plasma membrane. We have studied the ability of capillary endothelial cells isolated from rat epididymal fat to endocytose fluorescently labelled ovalbumin within micropinocytic vesicles. Net association of fluorescent ovalbumin with endothelial cells reaches an equilibrium after 40 minutes of incubation. This equilibrium is presumably due to a balance between endocytosis and subsequent exocytosis of this protein. Capillaries equilibrated with fluorescent ovalbumin exhibited rapid exocytosis of this protein when it was removed from the external medium. The rate of endocytosis was concentration dependent and obeyed the kinetics expected for adsorptive phase endocytosis. High concentrations of ovalbumin stimulated the ingestion of 14 C‐sucrose, a marker of fluid endocytosis, suggesting that protein can affect the movement of vesicles within the endothelial cytoplasm. These results imply that capillary endothelium isolated from rat epididymal fat exhibits the ability to endocytose and subsequently exocytose protein. This demonstrates that the two components of endothelial vesicular transport or transcytosis can be observed and studied in a system of isolated capillary endothelium.