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. 2021 Mar 23;10:e64909. doi: 10.7554/eLife.64909

Figure 1. Enumeration and characterization of circulating endothelial cells (CECs) from COVID-19 convalescents (n = 30), non-COVID-19 patients (n = 20), and healthy participants (n = 24).

Figure 1.

(a) Using flow cytometry, CEC populations were gated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using a strategy involving positive (nuclear stain and CD31) and negative (CD45 and CD133) markers before characterization with three separate markers of endothelial activation. (b) and (c) Scatterplot visualization of the number of CECs and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) per million PBMCs identified from each sample with mean and standard error of mean for each group shown. (d) and (e) Boxplots extending from 25th to 75th percentile with bar showing mean and whiskers indicating the minimum and maximum number of CECs per million PBMCs from each group staining positive for endothelial activation markers ICAM1, SELP, or CX3CL1. Kruskal—Wallis test was performed (b—e) to test for difference between the groups with Dunn’s multiple comparison test carried out for pairwise testing post hoc. (f) and (g) Cumulative analysis of patient frequency data of CECs staining positive for endothelial activation markers, ICAM1, SELP, and/or CX3CL1. Chi-squared goodness-of-fit test was performed to assess for difference in frequencies between the groups in (f) and (g).