Figure 7.

Inhibitors of HA accumulation influence HUVEC sprouting. (A, B) Assays of sprouts produced by monolayer-sprout cultures grown 6 days in T-medium with no additives (control—Cntr) or supplemented with 20 mM mannose (Man), 0.3 mM 4-MU, high (20 mM) glucose (Gluc), or 200 U/ml of hyaluronidase (HYAL). (A, B) Compared with controls, sprout numbers were significantly reduced by mannose, 4-MU, and hyaluronidase, but significantly increased by high glucose. (C, D) Compared with controls, sprout length was not affected by mannose, 4-MU, or high glucose (C), but was significantly decreased by hyaluronidase (D). In (A)–(D), n=3 cultures for each treatment group. Abbreviations: HA, hyaluronan; HUVEC, human umbilical vein endothelial cell; 4-MU, 4-methylumbelliferone; T-medium, tubulogenesis medium. (A) *p<0.05. **p<0.04. ***p<0.03; (B) *p<0.001; (D) *p<0.01.