The Proangiogenic Capabilities of Malignant Ascites Generated by Aggressive Ovarian Tumors

Figure 3

Microscopic evaluation of the expression of connexin 43 in vascular endothelial cells within clear cell (CC), endometrioid (Endo), serous (Ser), and undifferentiated (Undiff) ovarian tumors that developed in the presence of malignant ascites. Panel (a) shows the representative results of connexin 43 staining (the black arrows indicate a positive reaction). Note that large vessels in the serous tumors display characteristic patchy staining with areas lacking connexin 43 expression (red arrows). Panel (b) shows the results of the quantification of the brown-stained area reflecting the presence of connexin 43. The results are expressed as a percentage (%), and the whole area of an endothelium is considered to be 100%. versus CC; versus Endo; versus Ser. The results derive from an analysis of tumors from 6 different patients per group and are expressed as mean ± SEM.

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