Fig. 1

Isolation, cultivation, and identification of EPCs. (a-d) Sequential changes of EPCs. a A small amount of adherent cells appeared 3–4 days after seeding (100×). b EPCs colonies formed 7 days after seeding (100×, arrows showed a representative colony). c EPCs colonies grew to confluence and exhibited a cobblestone-like cell monolayer 10 days after seeding (100×). d EPCs formed tube-like structures on Matrigel in vitro (100×). e-l Fluorescent microscopy was used to characterize cell surface marker expression on canine EPCs from passage 2. VEGFR2 (f, j), CD133(g), CD34 (k) expression being assessed. n EPC uptake FITC-UEA-I (green, 400×); o EPC uptake of Dil-Ac-LDL (red, 400×)