Fig. 2.

GSK-3β inhibitors improve the formation of capillary cords in vitro. a Capillary morphogenesis of retinal MVECs in response to “sandwiching” with 3D collagen-I; cells were stained for F-actin with FITC-phalloidin (bar = 50 microns). Note improved cord formation with GSK-3β inhibitor VIII (right panel, arrows). b Quantification of parameters that characterize capillary organization. Improved organization is reflected by increased cord length, increased numbers of inter-connected polygon networks, and reduced number of blind ends. AR-A014418 (GSK-3β inhibitor VIII) at 0.5 μM, TDZD-8 (GSK-3β inhibitor I) at 5 μM, and L803-mts (GSK-3β peptide inhibitor) at 20 μM similarly improved organization; P < 0.001 for each drug and each parameter, relative to control, with n ≥ 15 for each group. Apart from optimal dose, no significant differences were observed among the inhibitors. c Dose-response curves for each of the inhibitors; n ≥ 9