Figure 1.
HUVEC release cardioprotective factors. (A) Experimental protocol for the co-culture of HUVEC with adult rat cardiomyocytes using a trans-well system, followed by hypoxia and reoxygenation (H/R). Separate wells of cardiomyocytes were maintained in normoxic medium. Insulin pre-treatment was used as a positive control for cardioprotection. (B,C) Representative images of cardiomyocytes stained with propidium iodide (PI) at the end of the H/R protocol. Fluorescent images (PI staining in red) were overlaid with phase contrast images of cells. (D,E) Percentage of dead cells after normoxic culture, after H/R, after HUVEC co-culture (D, N = 5), or after addition of exosome-free conditioned medium (“exo-free CM”) (E, N = 3). *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001.