This study represents a continuous effort to develop and establish the most reliable and reproducible method for culturing cerebromicrovascular endothelium derived from SJL mice susceptible to EAE. Several different procedures of isolation, dissociation and seeding of the cells were evaluated to obtain the greatest yield of the endothelium. The growth and propagation of these cells was determined in the presence or absence of endothelial cell growth factor (ECGF). These investigations, although incomplete indicate that the murine endothelial cells require a fibronectin matrix and ECGF supplemented medium for the best growth and propagation in vitro. Each of the tested procedures irrespective o the cellular yield does not interfere with the expression of Factor VIII. Induction of I-A+ antigen and proliferating response of the endothelium to IFNgamma is possible in all endothelial cultures. Thus the established murine EC cultures are suitable for designing a model system to investigate the interaction between the cerebral EC and immune cells in living state, which are of importance in the understanding of the pathogenesis of several neurological disorders.
