Juxtaposition of Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Endothelial Progenitor Cells Promoted Angiogenic Potential Inside Alginate-Gelatin Microspheres

Here, we investigated the angiogenic potential of endothelial progenitor cells juxtaposed with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) inside alginate-gelatin microspheres with stromal derived factor-1α (SDF-1 α) for 7 days. Six encapsulated groups were allocated including endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), EPCs/SDF-1α, MSCs, MSCs/SDF-1α, EPCs+MSCs and EPCs+MSCs/SDF-1α. Cells were encapsulated with a mixture of 1% alginate and 2% gelatin hydrogel. Cell survival was examined by MTT assay. Endothelial differentiation was determined by flow cytometry and ELISA. Tubulogenesis assay and Ac-Dil-LDL uptake were used to detect functional activity. Cell migration was analyzed by Transwell insert and gelatin zymography analyses. By using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we measured the transcription of and . We found an increase in cell viability in MSCs/SDF-1α microspheres compared to EPCs group (