A convenient source of human endothelial cells are those that line the large vein in the umbilical cord which is usually discarded together with the placenta after childbirth. The cells can be removed as a fairly pure suspension by mild enzymatic treatment of the vein followed by some mechanical distraction and will grow relatively easily in culture, retaining their differentiated characteristics for several passages.

http://www.ebi.ac.uk/efo/EFO_0002451

HUVEC cell

efo:EFO_0002451

HUVEC cell

Tomasz Adamusiak

A convenient source of human endothelial cells are those that line the large vein in the umbilical cord which is usually discarded together with the placenta after childbirth. The cells can be removed as a fairly pure suspension by mild enzymatic treatment of the vein followed by some mechanical distraction and will grow relatively easily in culture, retaining their differentiated characteristics for several passages.

http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CL_0000115