Figure 2. Tubular alignment of cell mixture in chitosan hydrogel after application of VEGF-loaded microtubes.
mBM-CD31+ cells (CM-DiI labeled, red) and mESC-ECs (SP-DiO labeled, green) were embedded in chitosan hydrogel in the absence of VEGF165-loaded microtubes (A), presence of VEGF165 only (B), and presence of VEGF165-loaded microtubes (C). The hydrogel-cell mixture was collected at day 4 and stained with DAPI (blue). Confocal microscopic examination showed tube-like cellular arrangement (white arrows) only in the presence of VEGF165-loaded microtubes (C). Scale bar: 100 μm.
