Obstructive Sleep Apnea Monocytes Exhibit High Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Secretion, Augmenting Tumor Progression

Figure 3

Monocytes exposed to intermittent hypoxia exhibit a VEGF mRNA expression depending on HIF1α expression. CD14⁺ monocytes isolated from HV were nucleofected with siRNA control (30 nM, empty bars, ) or siRNA HIF1α (30 nM, striped bars, ). After 16 hours, monocytes were cultured under normoxia (N, open bars, ) or IH (light gray bars, ) conditions. (a) Intracellular HIF1α expression analyzed by flow cytometry; , using a paired -test. (b) HIF1α and VEGF mRNA expression by qPCR; and , using a two-way ANOVA test. (c) CD14⁺ monocytes isolated from HV were nucleofected with control plasmid (0.5 μg, open boxes, ) or HIF1α plasmid (0.5 μg, light gray boxes, ) for 16 hours. HIF1α and VEGF mRNA expression by qPCR; and , relative to the OSA, using a paired -test.

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