L-arginine from elder human mesenchymal stem cells induces angiogenesis and enhances therapeutic effects on ischemic heart diseases

Figure 5 Wound healing and tube formation capacity in adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells from identical older patients cultured in serum-free and hypoxic conditions. A: Wound healing capacity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) co-cultured with different mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs); B: Relative quantitative comparison of healing speed analyses (n = 6); C: Representative photomicrographs showing tube formation in HUVECs co-cultured with different MSCs; D: Quantification of endothelial tube junction numbers demonstrated that co-culture with aged patient-derived MSCs promoted HUVECs to form capillary-like structures (n = 6). ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001. ASL: Arginine succinate lyase; shRNA: Short hairpin RNA; ADSCs: Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells; BMSCs: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; HUVECs: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells; NC: Negative control.