Endothelial Glycocalyx Layer Properties and Its Ability to Limit Leukocyte Adhesion.

ABSTRACT: The endothelial glycocalyx layer (EGL), which consists of long proteoglycans protruding from the endothelium, acts as a regulator of inflammation by preventing leukocyte engagement with adhesion molecules on the endothelial surface. The amount of resistance to adhesive events the EGL provides is the result of two properties: EGL thickness and stiffness. To determine these, we used an atomic force microscope to indent the surfaces of cultured endothelial cells with a glass bead and evaluated two different approaches for interpreting the resulting force-indentation curves. In one, we treat the EGL as a molecular brush, and in the other, we treat it as a thin elastic layer on an elastic half-space. The latter approach proved more robust in our hands and yielded a thickness of 110 nm and a mod

SUBMITTER: Delgadillo LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7136287 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature