Platelet-Rich Plasma as an Autologous and Proangiogenic Cell Delivery System

Figure 6

Gene expression of HUVEC and MSC mono- and cocultures in PRP at days 7 and 14. Gene expression (normalized to 18s expression) at day 7 and day 14 is displayed as fold change to day 0. Dashed lines indicate a fold change of 1, that is, unchanged gene expression. MSC monocultures (100 M), HUVEC monocultures (100 H), and cocultures 75% HUVECs–25% MSCs (75 HM) and 50% HUVECs–50% MSCs (50 HM) were investigated (seeding density: 2.5 × 10³ cells/μl gel). (a) Gene expression of VEGF, showing downregulation in 100H cultures. (b) An upregulation of angiopoetin-1 (Ang 1), a crucial growth factor of angiogenic processes, was detected in all conditions at day 14 as well as in the cocultures on day 7. (c) Gene expression of Tie 2, one of the receptors binding Ang 1. (d–f) Depicted is the expression of pericyte markers CD146, NG 2, and PDGFRβ1, respectively. CD146 was upregulated at day 7 in MSC monocultures (d). At day 7, both cocultures showed a higher NG 2 expression compared to monocultures (e). PDGFRβ1 upregulations were detectable in all cultures at day 14 (f). MSCs upregulated connexin 43 (g), indicating the formation of gap junctions, whereas no differential regulation was observed for collagen IV (h). Two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test for multiple comparison was applied to test for differences between experimental groups; . .

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