Figure 4

Synergistic effect of angiotensin II and low-dose VEGF-A to promote mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into endothelial cells. Co-culture of naïve bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A; 2 ng/ml) and angiotensin II (Ang II; 2 ng/ml) resulted in significantly increased expression of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), von Willebrand factor (vWF), and vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) (A). Increasing the dose of Ang II in combination with the low dose of VEGF-A did not result in further increase in EC marker expression (B, C, D). Note that human umbilical vein endothelial cells were excluded from the statistical analyses. *P <0.05 vs. naïve MSCs. ^# P <0.05 vs. VEGF-A (2 ng/ml)-treated MSCs, n = 3.