FIG. 5.

Effects of paracrine signals from nonviral engineered ADSCs on endothelial cell (EC) viability and apoptosis. (a) Paracrine release from ADSCs significantly improved human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) viability under hypoxia [*p<0.05 vs. endothelial basal medium (EBM)], with no significant difference in cell viability due to VEGF overexpression. (b) Paracrine release from ADSCs markedly decreased HUVEC apoptosis under hypoxia, and PBAE/VEGF-transfected group led to the greatest decrease in cell apoptosis [*p<0.05 vs. EBM; ^#p<0.05 vs. Lipo VEGF/ADSC–conditioned medium (CM)]. (c–f) Representative images of TUNEL-stained HUVECs undergoing apoptosis. Scale bars=200 μm. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/scd