Serum from Varicose Patients Induces Senescence-Related Dysfunction of Vascular Endothelium Generating Local and Systemic Proinflammatory Conditions

Figure 1

Effect of serum from healthy volunteers (HV) and patients with varicose veins (VV) on proliferation (a), senescence (b), and oxidative stress (c) in cultured endothelial cells. Subconfluent cultures of endothelial cells were exposed to the tested sera (20%) for 72 h and then the number of population doublings achieved (a measure of cell proliferative capacity), the activity of SA-β-Gal (a marker of cellular senescence), and the production of ROS (an indicator of oxidative stress) were examined. Results (expressed as means ± SEM) derive from experiments performed with sera from 12 (proliferation) or 16 (senescence, oxidative stress) individuals per group. Asterisks indicate significant differences as compared with HV. RFU: relative fluorescence units.

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