Figure 3.
Suppression of EPC levels in GPx-1– deficient mice. A, Quantitative analysis of EPC levels before and after induction of ischemia in WT and GPx-1 KO mice. Peripheral blood monocytes were collected before surgery and at 5 days postsurgery. After 5 days of cultivation, attached cells were stained for the uptake of DiI-Ac-LDL and lectin. Cells were quantified by examining 15 random microscopic fields, and double-positive cells were counted as EPCs. Values are expressed as mean±SD. *P<0.01 vs baseline in WT mice (n=5); #P<0.05 vs ischemia in GPx-1 KO mice. hpf indicates high-power field. B, EPC levels after treatment with VEGF. Mice received subcutaneous injections of 500 μg of VEGF per kg/d or saline for a period of 3 days. EPCs were isolated and quantified as described above. Values are expressed as mean±SD. *P<0.01 vs baseline in WT mice, P<0.01 vs VEGF administration in GPx-1 KO mice. hpf indicates high-power field. C, Expression of Flk-1 assessed by fluorescence FACS. EPCs were isolated from mice 5 days following ischemic hindlimb surgery and cultured for 5 days before analysis. Alternatively, mice were administered VEGF daily before EPC isolation and analysis. D, The results of 3 experiments are shown. *P<0.01 relative to KO mice.