Fig. 4.

Expression and production of neurotrophically induced MPCs (nMPC) and endothelial cells (EC) cultured on tissue culture plastic (TCP) and nanofiber constructs (NF). a,c NF-cultured growth factor and neurotrophic marker gene expression, assayed by RT-PCR and normalized to TCP cultures: secreted brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (b) or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (d) levels from cells seeded on TCP or NF as measured by ELISA. nMPC (a) and EC (c) neurotrophic gene expression was mildly or significantly increased by NF culture in almost all cases. CM from cultures on NF contained lower levels of secreted growth factors than conditioned medium (CM) from TCP-cultured cells (b,d). Noninduced multipotent progenitor cells (MPCs) secreted more VEGF than nMPCs (b,d). n = 6; Student’s t test *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, versus controls (a,c) or indicated groups (b,d). CNTF ciliary neurotrophic factor, GNDF glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, NGF nerve growth factor