Figure 6. Mast cell proteases induce cell spreading and tube formation in SVEC4-10 cells.

(A) When cells were incubated in absence of proteases, only a few cells were spread on the surface, beginning to form tubes (arrow) and most of the cells remained unspread. (B) mMCP-6 augments cell spreading and tube formation in comparison to the control cultures (arrows). (C) mMCP-7 is more efficient in inducing cell spreading and tube formation than mMCP-6. Most of cells are spread (arrowhead) or in the form of tubes (arrows). Phase contrast microscopy. (D) The graphics show the percent of cells that were spread on the surface (Geltrex™) after 5 h incubation. *P<0.05.