Figure 2.

Angiogenesis in normal and diabetic wounds: In normal wounds, the hypoxic niche stimulates the activation of HIF factors, which mediate the synthesis of VEGF via signaling pathways. The VEGF activates the eNOS pathway for the synthesis of NO in bone marrow cells, which mobilizes the EPC to the wound site for angiogenesis. In the case of a diabetic wound on the right, an increased level of ROS inhibits eNOS activity, which consequently limits EPC mobilization, resulting in impaired healing.