Fig 3. Normoxic- and hypoxic- hASCs secretomes increase cell proliferation and attenuate apoptosis in HUVECs.

(A) HUVECs were cultured for 24h in medium alone (control) or supplemented with either NCM or HCM. TUNEL-positive cells were counted, and the apoptotic index was calculated as the average number of positive cells compared to the total number of cells in at least six visual fields. Values shown are the mean ± SD of at least three independent experiments. (B) HUVECs were pulse-labeled with 10 μM BrdU, cultured for up to 24 hours in the presence of NCM or HCM, and BrdU was visualized by immunocytochemistry and quantified by cell counting. (C) Representative western blots of pAKT and total AKT expression in HUVECs exposed to NCM or HCM. (D) Quantitative data representing the average values of three independent experiments. The Fig 3C was cropped to improve the clarity and conciseness of the presentation, and the full-length blots are presented in S2 Fig. Results indicate mean normalized expression relative to control ± SD. Cell experiment was repeated three times independently. *p<0.05; ** p<0.01 (n = 4).