Figure 5. Cx40 inhibition in ECs promotes the recruitment of vascular SMCs.

(A) Fluorescent A7r5 SMCs were added in wells containing a capillary network of HUVECs. After 6 hours, quantitative assessment of the number of attached SMCs revealed an increased recruitment of A7r5 cells when the capillary-like structures were generated under the presence of the ⁴⁰Gap27 peptide compared to its scrambled version. Results are means + SEM from 3 different experiments performed in duplicate. 2–3 pictures per replicate have been analyzed. (B) Western blot analysis performed on 2D HUVECs revealed that Cx40 inhibition during 4 hours using the ⁴⁰Gap27 peptide reduces the phosphorylation of eNOS whereas, VEGFR2, MMP2 and VE-cadherin were unaffected. Data shown are means + SEM from 3 separate experiments performed in triplicate. Significant differences are shown as *p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001 versus Scramble peptide treatment.