COS-7 cells (ATCC, Rockville, MD) were cultured in DMEM (Corning, Cellgro®, USA) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) (Gibco). HCAECs (#300K-05A, Cell Applications Inc., San Diego, CA) were cultured in Meso Endo Cell Growth Media (Cell Applications Inc.) containing 10% FBS and Growth Supplement (#212K-500, Cell Applications Inc.)20. Passage 4-6 of HCAEC cells were used for experiments. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were isolated from umbilical cords from normal pregnancy women in accordance with the University of Rochester human subjects review board procedures that prescribe to the Declaration of Helsinki20. Human umbilical cores are obtained under informed consent from all participants and conform to HIPAA standards to protect the privacy of the donor’s personal health information. HUVECs were cultured in Medium 200 (#M-200-500, Thermo Fischer Scientific, Waltham, MA) containing 10% FBS and low serum growth supplement (LSGS) (#S-003-10, Thermo Fischer Scientific). Passages 3–6 of HUVECs were used for experiments. THP-1 cells (ATCC) were grown in RPMI 1640 containing 10% FBS. Lung ECs were maintained in DMEM containing 20% FBS, penicillin/streptomycin and heparin. All cells were cultured at 37 °C with 5% CO2 in cell incubator.