Research Article Aberrant Phenotype in Human Endothelial Cells of Diabetic Origin: Implications for Saphenous Vein Graft Failure?

Copyright © 2015 Anna C. Roberts et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) confers increased risk of endothelial dysfunction, coronary heart disease, and vulnerability to vein graft failure after bypass grafting, despite glycaemic control. This study explored the concept that endothelial cells (EC) cultured from T2DMand nondiabetic (ND) patients are phenotypically and functionally distinct. Cultured human saphenous vein- (SV-) ECwere compared between T2DM and ND patients in parallel. Proliferation, migration, and in vitro angiogenesis assays were performed; western blotting was used to quantify phosphorylation of Akt, ERK, and eNOS. The ability of diabetic stimuli (hyperglycaemia, TNF