Figure 7.

Knockdown of HIF‐1α resulted in deficient in vitro angiogenesis of bmEPCs. A. bmEPCs were cultured on Matrigel under 2% O₂ to observe tube formation. The cell bodies of the bmEPCs treated with the control shRNA stretched (noted by a white arrow) and connected with each other to form tubes. However, in the HIF‐1α shRNA‐treated group, tube formation was inhibited. B. Spheroid bmEPCs were cultured in Matrigel under 2% O₂ to observe bmEPCs sprouting. Spheroid sprouts in each bmEPC sphere of the groups were counted. C and D are the statistical analyses of A and B, respectively (n = 5–7). (E) is the western blot of VEGF‐A and flk1 in ischemic brains treated with the control shRNA or HIF‐1α shRNA. (F) Primary bmEPCs and astrocytes were cultured under gradient oxygen; primary bmEPCs and astrocytes treated with HIF‐1α shRNA or control shRNA were cultured under 2% O₂. White bar, 30 μm. Black bar, 200 μm. Data are presented as the mean ± S.D.