Figure 6.

CD34⁺ cell‐derived hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) augments endothelial cell differentiation of CD14⁺ cells. Culturing CD14⁺ cells in CD34‐, or CD34⁺/CD14⁺ conditioned media resulted in increased co‐expression of CD31 and vWF (A) and CD144 and eNOS (B) compared to CD14⁺ monocultures or CD14⁺ conditioned medium. Increase in endothelial marker expression was partially inhibited by neutralizing antibodies to HGF (C: CD31⁺vWF⁺ and D: CD144⁺eNOS⁺). Addition of recombinant HGF to CD14⁺ monocultures increased endothelial marker expression in a dose‐dependent manner (E). †=P < 0.10 versus CD14, *=P < 0.05 versus CD14, **=P < 0.01 versus CD14, and ***=P < 0.001 versus CD14.