Endothelial differentiation from MPCs.
MPCs plated at 2 × 104/cm2 were cultured in MPC expansion medium without FCS, EGF, or PDGF, but with 20 ng/mL VEGF-B for 14 days. Differentiation to endothelial cells was evaluated by FACS for KDR, vWF, CD34, CD36, and Tek (A; specific antibody, thick line; control IgG, thin line) and immunofluorescence microscopy for CD34, CD36, and vWF (B). Shown are VEGF-induced cells stained with specific antibodies (upper row) and control IgG (middle row) as well as undifferentiated MPCs stained with specific antibodies (bottom row) (enlargement = 40 ×). Results were confirmed by Western blot for Tek and vWF (C; clones nos. 1, 2, and 3; see also Figure 12; β-actin serves as loading control). A representative example of more than 10 experiments is shown.
