Effects of rotational culture on morphology, nitric oxide production and cell cycle of endothelial cells.

Devices for the rotational culture of cells and the study of biological reactions have been widely applied in tissue engineering. However, there are few reports exploring the effects of rotational culture on cell morphology, nitric oxide (NO) production, and cell cycle of the endothelial cells from human umbilical vein on the stent surface. This study focuses on these parameters after the cells are seeded on the stents. Results showed that covering of stents by endothelial cells was improved by rotational culture. NO production decreased within 24 h in both rotational and static culture groups. In addition, rotational culture significantly increased NO production by 37.9% at 36 h and 28.9% at 48 h compared with static culture. Flow cytometry showed that the cell cycle was not obviously influenced by rotational culture. Results indicate that rotational culture may be helpful for preparation of cell-seeded vascular grafts and intravascular stents, which are expected to be the most frequently implanted materials in the future.