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. 2016 Jan 14;6:19379. doi: 10.1038/srep19379

Figure 7. Apelin induces maturation of neovessels in cooperation with preconditioned PBMNCs.

Figure 7

(a) Scheme of the aortic ring assay using thoracic aorta, PBMNCs, and apelin-13. Mouse thoracic aorta and PBMNCs were embedded in Matrigel, and apelin-13 was added in a layered medium. (b) Representative images of the aortic ring and sprouted vessels. Vascular smooth muscle cells surrounding sprouted neovessels were identified by α-SMA expression (red). Scale bar = 200 μm. (c) Preconditioned PBMNCs and apelin-13 accelerated sprouting from the aortic ring. The number of sprouted vessels forming the aortic ring was significantly increased in the group of apelin-13 and H-PBMNC. *p < 0.01 vs. PBS. (d) Combination of apelin-13 and preconditioned PBMNCs enhanced maturation of neovessels sprouted from the aortic ring. The maturation of neovessels was quantitatively estimated by the area of α-SMA+ smooth muscle cells in each field. *p < 0.05 vs. PBS; †p < 0.01 vs. apelin; ‡p < 0.05 vs. apelin + N-PBMNC; §p < 0.01 vs. H-PBMNC.