Fig 6. Secretion of angiogenic cytokines and bioactivity of the medium conditioned by visASCs cultured for 72 hours at 1% O_2(g).

A: Correlation analysis between VEGF concentrations and plasma glucose levels in the patients. B: Values of fluorescence emitted by the surviving HUVECs grouped by metabolic profile. C: Correlation analysis between values of fluorescence emitted by the surviving HUVECs and HOMA-IR. D: Correlation analysis between HGF concentrations and values of fluorescence emitted by the surviving HUVECs. Concentrations of cytokines were determined by ELISA and their values normalized to 1 × 10⁶ visASCs according to the number of cells present at the time of medium collection. Cell viability was estimated by fluorescence intensity, by dividing the emitted fluorescence value in the wells where HUVECs were cultured in hypox-visASC-conditioned medium by the values emitted in the wells where HUVECs were cultured in unconditioned medium. E: Tubular structures and rate of increase in the length of tubules generated by HUVECs cultured in visASC-conditioned medium grouped by metabolic profile. F: Correlation analysis between the rate of increase in the length of tubules generated by HUVECs cultured in visASC-conditioned medium and HOMA-IR. Bar = 250 μm. The rate of increase in tubule formation was calculated by dividing the mean length of the tubules produced by HUVECs cultured in hypox-visASC-conditioned medium by the mean length of those generated by the HUVECs cultured in normo-visASC-conditioned medium. (Nw, n = 3; NonMS, n = 7; MS, n = 7). *, Significantly different results (Mann-Whitney test; P < 0.05) to those of Nw subjects. Nw: normal-weight subjects; NonMS: obese subjects without metabolic syndrome; MS: obese subjects with metabolic syndrome; HUVECs: human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor; HGF: hepatocyte growth factor; HOMA-IR: homeostasis model assessment to quantify insulin resistance.