Studying cells in conditions that resemble the human body

Nrf2-mediated redox signalling and intracellular oxygen utilisation in cultured human endothelial cells adapted to physiological oxygen levels in vivo

Endothelial cells that line blood vessels in the human body are exposed to much lower oxygen levels than present in the air we breathe. The percent of oxygen in air is 21% whereas the percent of oxygen in different organs and tissues in the body is about 3% to 13%. Professor Giovanni Mann and his team have cultivated human endothelial cells in an oxygen-regulated chamber and have shown that the regulation of protective genes and important messenger molecules are altered in cells at lower, more physiological, oxygen levels (like those in the human body) compared with the higher oxygen levels commonly used in the lab. This PhD studentship will examine how endothelial cells react when cultured in oxygen levels similar to those found in the body (5%) versus 18-20% oxygen commonly used in cell culture incubators. The student will measure the effects of different oxygen levels on the cell's energy stores and on the release of biologically important substances. They will assess whether these changes affects the ability of cells to protect themselves against disease. By studying endothelial cells and other cell types, such as heart cells and stem cells, at oxygen levels found in the body, we could get a better idea of the biology of these cells.