Effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion by microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs).

IL-6 concentrations were determined in culture supernatants of MVECs after stimulation with 2 (•), 10 (▾), or 50 (▪) ng/mL of VEGF165 (A) or VEGF121 (B) for 6, 24, and 48 hours, respectively; (▴), unstimulated controls. Data represent median values and interquartile ranges of three independent experiments performed in triplicates. Analysis of significance for overall group differences was performed by the Kruskal-Wallis test (P < .001). The multiple comparisons' criterion was employed to identify differences between groups (10 ng/mL vs controls, P < .05; 50 ng/mL vs controls, P < .001; 50 ng/mL vs 2 ng/mL,P < .001 for all time periods).