Skip to main content
. 2018 Nov 27;5:331. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2018.00331

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) increases the colony-forming capacity and proliferative potential of EPC-derived endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs). Mononuclear cells isolated from cord blood were cultured in EGM2 with (OPG) or without (CTRL) 25 ng/ml of OPG. (A) Representative photomicrographs (10 × magnification) of endothelial progenitors-derived ECFCs from the OPG-exposed and control groups after 14- and 25-day of the endothelial cell progeny derived from the CD34+ EPC colonies grown to confluence. (B) Number of colonies per equivalent cord blood volume. The number of colonies formed was identified by phase-contrast microscopy. Results represent the mean ± SEM ECFCs of 8 independent experiments. (C) Time of initial ECFCs appearance after culture initiation from equivalent volumes of cord blood. Results represent the mean ± SEM number of days before initial ECFCs appearance of 10 independent experiments for CTRL conditions and 18 independent experiments for OPG conditions. (D) Growth kinetics of the endothelial cell progeny derived from cord EPC colonies. n = 10, cells were enumerated at each passage. (E) Population doubling time (PDT) and Cumulative Population-Doubling Level (CPDL) of EPCs-derived ECFCs during 15 days of culture. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001 by Student paired t-test.