Fig. 4

Tube formation assay by HUVECs incorporated with modified EPCs. DiI-labeled cells and HUVECs were seeded onto Matrigel-coated 96-well plates in 10 % FBS/EBM2-MV without growth factors. After 24 hours in culture, incorporation of each cell population into tube-like structures formed with HUVECs was evaluated under fluorescence microscopy. a Morphology of cultured HUVECs forming a network on Matrigel with the incorporation of DiI-positive cells. Bar, 200 μm. b Number of incorporated DiI-positive cells into tubular structures was counted and averaged. All assays demonstrated similar results (n = 4). EPC endothelial progenitor cell