Isolation of pulmonary arterial endothelial cells from patients with pulmonary vascular disease and uses thereof

A method of culturing a population of pulmonary arterial endothelial cells from a patient, comprising:

• introducing an inflatable balloon catheter into a vein of a patient who shows symptoms of or is diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and advancing the catheter through the right heart of the patient and into a branch of the pulmonary artery of the patient;
• inflating the balloon catheter to a pressure consistent with that of a pulmonary artery catheter;
• removing the balloon catheter from the patient;
• collecting a total cell population that adheres to the balloon catheter after removal from the patient;
• using flow cytometry, magnetic-based cell separation, or fluorescence activated cell sorting to separate the pulmonary arterial endothelial cells away from the total cell population;
• and
• expanding the population of pulmonary endothelial cells in a growth medium.