Cilostazol Improves Proangiogenesis Functions in Human Early Endothelial Progenitor Cells through the Stromal Cell-Derived Factor System and Hybrid Therapy Provides a Synergistic Effect In Vivo

Figure 3

Stimulating effect of cilostazol on the expression of SDF-1α, CXCR4, and capillary-like vascular tube formation by human early EPCs. Representative images (upper panels) show protein expression of SDF-1α (a) and CXCR4 (b) detected by Western blot analysis. A quantitative analysis (lower panels) revealed that cilostazol-stimulated protein expression of SDF-1α (a) and CXCR4 (b) in a dose-dependent manner with peak improvement at 30 μM cilostazol. (c) Illustration of early EPCs cultured on Matrigel to form a capillary-like tube network for 5 days. The effect could be enhanced with cilostazol (30 μM) and SDF-1α. The beneficial effect of cilostazol was significantly suppressed by coincubation with LY294002, Akti, and AMD3100. Original magnification is 100x. (d) Quantification results of capillary-like structures formed in cilostazol treatment with or without inhibitors. (e) Measurement of concentration of SDF-1α in culture medium of EPCs treated with different dose of cilostazol. and , significantly different compared with vehicle control. , significantly different compared with cilostazol-treated (30 μM) cells alone. Akti, Akt inhibitor; CXCR4, C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4; SDF-1α, stromal cell-derived factor-1α.

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