Gene expression of human splenic littoral cells compared with splenic vascular endothelial cells

Splenic littoral cells (SLCs) are specialized endothelial cells (ECs) lining the sinusoids of the human spleen and function as the filters and scavengers for senescent or altered red blood cells. In this study we isolated SLCs and vascular ECs from normal human spleens using immunostaining and flow cytometric sorting. We used microarrays to analyze the underling mechanism of SLC’s unique functions that distinguish themm from splenic vascular ECs and identified sets of differentially expressed genes Normal human spleens were obtained from National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) from healthy donors who required splenectomy for a traumatic injury. CD34- CD8a+ CD31+ CD3- CD45- SLCs and CD34+ CD8a- CD31+ CD3- CD45 splenic vascular ECs were isolated from the spleens and their gene expression profiles were compared.