Isolation, characterization, and propagation in vitro of human glomerular endothelial cells.

Human glomerular endothelial cells have been isolated, cloned, and characterized. They appeared as the first outgrowth from human glomeruli in the presence of platelet-derived growth factor, which was also a requirement for continuous growth. By phase microscopy they appeared as monolayers of polygonal cells. Von Willebrand's factor (VWF) was detected in the cytoplasm of all clones. Their intermediate filaments differed antigenically from that present in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Like other endothelial cells, they demonstrated high levels of membrane-associated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE).