Lawrence W. Morrissey

Expression of organ-specific antigens on capillary endothelial cells

Our central thesis is that the endothelial cells which line capillaries of various organs are not all alike. Using monoclonal and conventional antibodies we demonstrate that capillary endothelial cells express on their cell surface an array of antigens that manifest organ selectivity. Brain-derived endothelial cells possess brain-associated antigens, ovary-derived endothelial cells share antigenic markers with other ovarian cells, and lung-derived endothelium possesses antigens that are primarily expressed on cells of the lung. Our experiments lead us to suggest that organ-associated determinants on the endothelial cell surface may play a role in the selective adhesion of tumor cells during metastasis, in site-limited vascular pathology, and in the regionally limited release of angiogenesis-induced factors.

Heterogeneity of Vascular Endothelial Cells: Its Possible Role in Selective Neovascularization in the Eye

The central hypothesis of our laboratory is that vascular endothelial cells are not all alike, and that their differences reflect in large part their developmental origins (1–4). In order to document these differences between endothelial cells of different organs we have used monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to delineate organ-specific determinants (1–3). We have used a variety of plant lectins to characterize cell surface-associated lectin-binding sites (5). Further, we have demonstrated that differences exist in the adhesion of different tumor cells to various endothelial cell mono layers (6,7).