Isolation of fresh endothelial cells from porcine heart for cardiovascular studies: a new fast protocol suitable for genomic, transcriptomic and cell biology studies

Background Endothelial cells (ECs) play a key role in tissue homeostasis, in several pathological conditions, and specifically in the control of vascular functions. ECs are frequently used as in vitro model systems for cardiovascular studies and vascular biology. The porcine model is commonly used in human clinical cardiovascular studies. Currently, however, there is no robust protocol for the isolation of porcine heart ECs. We have developed a fast isolation protocol, which is cost effective, takes only 1–2 h, and produces EC purity of over 97%. This protocol is optimized for porcine hearts but can be adapted for use with other large animals.