Fig. 1.

eNOS influences endothelial cell migration. Bovine arterial endothelial cells (BAECs) were transfected with control siRNA (CT-siRNA) or eNOS-siRNA to knockdown the expression of eNOS. A Depletion of eNOS was monitored by immunoblot (IB). β-actin was used as a loading control. B Confluent CT-siRNA or eNOS-siRNA transfected BAEC monolayers were scratched and tracked for 6 h in the presence or absence of 40 ng/mL VEGF. Tracks of nuclei are represented. C, D Quantifications of the total cell migration and persistence of displacements. Persistence is calculated by the ratio of the net (distance between the start and the final position) and the total displacement for each track. E Rose plot diagrams showing cell migration paths of CT-siRNA and eNOS-siRNA transfected BAECs. Results are displayed as mean values ± SEM. The graphs are representative of more than three independent experiments each yielding similar results. At least 60 cells per experiment were quantified. *p < 0.05