Up-regulation of angiogenic gene transcripts and products in EPCs in response to rh-sCD146. (A) Alterations in VEGFR2, MMP-2, uPA, and eNOS mRNA levels after rh-sCD146 treatment were analyzed by quantitative PCR. Results are the mean values of 4 different experiments. (B) Kinetics of induction of MMP-2, eNOS, uPA, and VEGFR2 proteins were performed. A representative experiment is shown for each protein. (C) Quantification of 3 to 5 experiments described in panel B. *P < .05, **P < .01, ***P < .001, experimental versus control.