Atherogenic Cytokines Regulate VEGF-A-Induced Differentiation of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Endothelial Cells

Figure 3

IL-6 negatively regulates EC differentiation: the effect of IL-6 on VEGF-A-stimulated differentiation of MSCs into ECs was examined. IL-6R and VEGFR-2 mRNA expression was analyzed by RT-PCR and normalized to GAPDH () (a). Sox18 protein levels were measured by Western blot analysis and normalized to GAPDH () (b). Expression of EC markers was determined by FACS analysis, and a representative grid is shown ( = 3–6) ((c)–(g)). Endothelial tube formation was examined using an angiogenesis assay () ((d)–(h)). Experiments were performed with samples taken from independent BM-MSC cultures from separate microswine. HUVECs were excluded from statistical analyses. Data are shown as mean ± SD. versus naïve MSCs and MSCs treated with VEGF-A versus VEGF-A plus IL-6 cotreatment.