Fig. 4.

Glycocalyx degradation did not alter flow-induced EC-cell junction inclination. HUVECs were subjected to a 16 dyn/cm² steady shear stress for 30 min after 2-h pretreatment with 50 μg/ml heparinase III (Hep). A and B: PECAM-1 immunostaining with XZ cross sections showing inclination of the EC-cell junction in Hep-pretreated cells and control (Ctrl)-untreated experiment. Scale bars are 20 μm. C: removal of heparan sulfate by Hep treatment was confirmed by Western blot. D: EC-cell junction inclination angles for each condition described above.