FIG. 2.
The number of CFU-Hill cells in type 1 diabetic patients with NPDR (n = 20) is increased when compared with age- and sex-matched control subjects. The CFU-Hill cells were detected by performing the Hill assay as described in research design and methods and enumerated as the number of colonies formed in vitro by 106 circulating mononuclear cells. Each point in the scattergrams corresponds to the number of colonies (average of the number of colonies in 12 wells) counted on day 7 for each individual subject; the horizontal lines represent the group means. The cells of the colonies expressed CD45 and CD14 in addition to endothelial-specific transcripts as described in text. *P = 0.01 vs. control subjects.