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. 2010 Jan;17(1):32-8.
doi: 10.1111/j.1549-8719.2009.00004.x.

Liver sinusoidal endothelial fenestrations in caveolin-1 knockout mice

Alessandra Warren  1 , Victoria C Cogger, Irwin M Arias, Robert S McCuskey, David G Le Couteur
Affiliations

Liver sinusoidal endothelial fenestrations in caveolin-1 knockout mice

Alessandra Warren et al. Microcirculation. 2010 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: Fenestrations are pores in the liver sinusoidal endothelium that facilitate the transfer of particulate substrates between the sinusoidal lumen and hepatocytes. Fenestrations express caveolin-1 and have structural similarities to caveolae, therefore might be a form of caveolae and caveolin-1 may be integral to fenestration structure and function. Therefore, fenestrations were studied in the livers of caveolin-1 knockout mice.

Methods: Scanning, transmission and immunogold electron microscopic techniques were used to study the liver sinusoidal endothelium and other tissues in caveolin-1 knockout and wild-type mice.

Results: Comparison of fenestrations in wild-type and knockout mice did not reveal any differences on either scanning or transmission electron microscopy. The diameter of the fenestrations was not significantly different (74 +/- 13 nm knockout mice vs 78 +/- 12 nm wild-type mice) nor was the fenestration porosity (6.5 +/- 2.1 knockout vs 7.3 +/- 2.4% wild-type mice). In contrast, adipocytes and blood vessels in other tissues lacked caveolae in the knockout mice. Caveolin-1 immunogold of livers of wild-type mice indicated sparse expression in sinusoidal endothelial cells.

Conclusions: The normal structure of fenestrations in the liver sinusoidal endothelium is not dependent upon caveolin-1 and fenestrations are not a form of caveolae.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transmission electron micrographs of adipose tissue (A, B), and capillaries in lung (C, D) and heart (E, F) or wild-type mouse (left panel, A, C, E) and caveolin-1 knockout mouse (right panel, B, D, F). Arrows show presence of numerous caveolae in the wild-type mouse tissues.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Transmission electron micrographs of liver sinusoidal endothelial cell in wild-type mouse (A) and caveolin-1 knockout mouse (B). Scanning electron micrographs of the lumenal surface of the liver sinusoidal endothelial cell in wild-type mouse (C) and caveolin-1 knockout mouse (D). Arrows show fenestrations clustered in liver sieve plates.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Fenestration diameter frequency of wild-type and caveolin-1 knockout mice.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immunogold electron micrographs for caveolin-1 in a liver sinusoidal endothelial cell (A) and fat tissue (B) from a wild-type mice.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Cogger VC, Arias IM, Warren A, et al. The response of fenestrations, actin, and caveolin-1 to vascular endothelial growth factor in SK Hep1 cells. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2008;295:G137–G145. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cogger VC, Le Couteur DG. Fenestrations in the liver sinusoidal endothelial cell. In: Arias I, Wolkoff A, Boyer J, Shafritz D, Fausto N, Alter H, et al., editors. The Liver: Biology and Pathobiology. 5th edn. Hokoben, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; 2009. pp. 387–404.

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