FIGURE 2.

Morphology of the microvascular networks formed by EC-BMSC and EC-ASC co-cultures and ECs cultured alone. Microvascular networks were formed via vasculogenesis process by GFP-HUVECs cultured alone or in combination with supporting stromal cells—BMSCs or ASCs, for 6 days. (A) Confocal micrographs representing the overall architecture of microvascular networks established by EC-BMSC and EC-ASC co-cultures (5 million ECs/ml and 1 million MSCs/ml) and ECs alone (5 million cells/ml). Scale bars, 200 µm. Both EC-BMSC and EC-ASC co-cultures formed interconnected microvascular networks spanning the entire hydrogel over the course of 6 days. ECs cultured alone formed multicellular aggregates but failed to develop interconnected networks. (B) Hollow lumens could be observed in the cross-section images in all three conditions. Scale bars, 50 µm. Dash line depicts microposts that separate hydrogel from media channels. Donor cell lines BMSC 1 and ASC 2 were used for generation of data presented in the figure.