Cell death pattern of a varicose vein organ culture model.

The study aimed to investigate the viability of a varicose vein (VV) organ culture model by assessing cell death pattern. To assess pattern of cell death with time, VV organ cultures were incubated for up to 14 days with regular medium changed. To assess viability, cell death of VV organ cultures treated with sodium azide and their untreated counterparts was assayed. Increased cell death was measured in VV organ cultures from day 0 to 2. Cell death decreased gradually after day 2 and plateaued from day 8 to 14. VV organ cultures treated with sodium azide demonstrated significantly more cell death in tissue (P = 0.001). Cell death measured in cultures treated with sodium azide continued to increase until day 7. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the viability of a VV organ culture model with most cell death occurred within the first two days and then declined to a relatively low level.