Correlation between Therapeutic Efficacy of CD34⁺ Cell Treatment and Directed In Vivo Angiogenesis in Patients with End-Stage Diffuse Coronary Artery Disease

Figure 2

Evaluation of endothelial progenitor cell- (EPC-) mediated angiogenesis/neovascularization by directed in vivo angiogenesis assay (DIVAA) in nude mice. (a) Angioreactors implanted subcutaneously on each flank of a nude mouse. (b) Two angioreactors containing growth factors with (i.e., right side, EPCs) and two without (i.e., left side, controls) cultured EPCs (4 × 10⁵ EPCs/angioreactor) from one patient subcutaneously implanted under the surgical incisions. After a 14-day implantation, retrieved angioreactors displayed on the right panel. (c) Comparison of relative fluorescent units (RFUs) between controls and EPCs with the paired t-test. (d) Comparison of the DIVAA ratio between the low-score group (grades 0-1) and the high-score group (grades 2-3), using the independent t-test; each error bar represents the mean with SD, and .

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