An assay for macrophage-mediated regulation of endothelial cell proliferation.

We have developed an assay that quantifies the potential of macrophages to regulate proliferation of endothelial cells. We show that young mice macrophages can be distinguished from old mice macrophages by their ability to inhibit vascular endothelial cell proliferation. While young mice macrophages robustly inhibit proliferation, old mice macrophages fail to do so and actually promote the proliferation of endothelial cells. In this report, we outline a technique that directly assesses the effect of macrophages on modulation of endothelial cell proliferation. This assay will help us in understanding the mechanisms of macrophage function in several disease states characterized by abnormal angiogenesis including cancers, angiogenic eye disease and atherosclerotic heart disease.