bFGF inhibition and its effect on EPCs differentiation.

<p><b>A.</b> The average number of colonies per field ± SE in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured with platelets and FGF inhibitor or alone, P<0.05, n = 23 (Friedman test followed by Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test) The ability to form colonies was higher in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone or with platelets and FGF inhibitor. <b>B–C.</b> FACS analysis of the average number of VE-cadherin (A) and Tie-2 (B) expressing cells ± SE, p<0.05, n = 11 for A, p<0.05 n = 10 for B. EPCs cultured with platelets have a higher proportion of Tie-2 and VE-cadherin expressing cells compared to EPCs cultured alone or with platelets and bFGF inhibitor.</p

The direct effect of platelets on EPCs functional properties and its comparison to the platelets’ indirect effect.

<p><b>A.</b> The average number of colonies per field ± SE in EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, p<0.05, n = 13 (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test). The capacity to form colonies was higher in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone. <b>B.</b> Culture viability expressed as OD (560 nm) ± SE in EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, p<0.05, n = 11 (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test). EPCs cultured with platelets have enhanced culture viability. <b>C.</b> FACS analysis of the average number of Tie-2 expressing cells ± SE in EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, p<0.05, n = 7 (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. A higher percent of Tie-2 expressing cells appear in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone. D–F Direct vs indirect effect of platelets on EPCs ability to form colonies (D), culture viability (E) and the expression of Tie-2(F), for n = 13 or 11 or 7 respectively, p = NS for all. There was no significant difference in any of the tested parameters in EPCs incubated with platelets directly vs. indirectly.</p

The indirect effect of platelets on EPCs’ functional properties.

<p><b>A.</b> The average number of colonies per field ± SE in EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, p<0.05, n = 13 (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test). The capacity to form colonies was higher in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone<b>. B.</b> Culture viability expressed as OD (560 nm) ± SE in EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, p<0.05, n = 11 (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test). EPCs cultured with platelets have enhanced culture viability. <b>C.</b> FACS analysis of the average number of Tie-2 expressing cells ± SE in EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, p<0.05, n = 7 (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. A higher percent of Tie-2 expressing cells appear in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone. <b>D.</b> Representative EPC colonies with platelets (right) compared to EPCs cultured alone (left). <b>E.</b> FACS analysis representative figure of Tie-2 expressing cells.</p

Prognostic significance of reticulated platelet levels in diabetic patients with stable coronary artery disease

Levels of reticulated platelets (RP) increase during high platelet turnover conditions, and have been shown to correlate with diabetes mellitus (DM) status. Little is known regarding the prognostic significance of levels of RP among patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD). The study consisted of patients with SCAD and DM, who visited our cardiology outpatient clinic between June 2016 and February 2017. RP levels were measured at baseline as immature platelet fraction (IPF)%, using flow cytometry. Outcomes at 2 years consisted of bleeding events and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), which included death, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident and urgent revascularization. The study included 104 patients (mean age - 71.2 ± 9.5 years, 76.9% were male, and 83.7% had hypertension). IPF was significantly higher at baseline among patients who had suffered from a MACE (4.57% vs. 2.53%, p < .001), and lower in patients who had suffered from bleeding events, compared with those who had not (1.57% vs. 3.00%, p = .004). There were higher rates of MACE at higher IPF quartiles (p < .001, AUC-0.770), and higher rates of bleeding at the lowest quartiles (p = .007, AUC-0.781). In SCAD patients with DM, levels of RP are associated with a higher risk of MACE, and inversely correlated with the risk of bleeding

PDGF and FGF protein levels on EPC-PLT supernatant and relative PDGF B/C mRNA levels in EPCs following co incubation with platelets.

<p><b>A–B.</b> PDGF(A) and FGF(B) levels expressed as pg/ml ± SE in supernatants of EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, n = 11, p<0.05 for A, n = 5 p = NS for B (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test). PDGF levels were significantly higher in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone. There were no significant differences in FGF levels between the two groups. <b>C–D.</b> PDGFC(C) and PDGFB(D) relative expression appears as AU ± SE in EPCs cultured with vs. without platelets, n = 6 p<0.05 for A, n = 8, p = NS for B (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test). PDGFC mRNA levels were significantly higher in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone (C). There were no significant differences in PDGFB levels between the two groups (D).</p

PDGF inhibition and its effect on EPCs functional properties.

<p><b>A.</b> The average number of colonies per field ± SE in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured with platelets and PDGF inhibitor or alone, n = 23, p<0.05, p<0.001. (Friedman test followed by Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test) The ability to form colonies was higher in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured alone or with platelets and PDGF inhibitor. <b>B.</b> Culture viability expressed as OD (560 nm) ± SE in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured with platelets and PDGF inhibitor or alone p<0.05, n = 11(Friedman test followed by Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test). EPCs cultured with platelets had greater culture viability compared to EPCs cultured with platelets and PDGF inhibitor or alone<b>. C–D</b> FACS analysis expressed as the average number of VE-cadherin (C) and Tie-2(D) expressing cells ± SE in EPCs cultured with platelets compared to EPCs cultured with platelets and PDGF inhibition or alone, p<0.05, n = 8 for C, p<0.05, n = 11 for D (Friedman test followed by Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test)<b>.</b> EPCs cultured with platelets have a higher percent of VE-cadherin (C) and Tie-2(D) expressing cells compared to EPCs cultured alone or with platelets and PDGF inhibitor. <b>E.</b> Representative EPC colonies with platelets (center) compared to EPCs cultured alone (left) or with platelets and PDGF inhibitor (right). <b>F.</b> FACs analysis representative figure of VE-cadherin expressing cells in EPCs cultured with platelets with or without PDGF inhibitor.</p

Simultaneous Noninvasive Detection and Therapy of Atherosclerosis Using HDL Coated Gold Nanorods

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. A real need exists in the development of new, improved therapeutic methods for treating CVD, while major advances in nanotechnology have opened new avenues in this field. In this paper, we report the use of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) coated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (GNP-HDL) for the simultaneous detection and therapy of unstable plaques. Based on the well-known HDL cardiovascular protection, by promoting the reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), injured rat carotids, as a model for unstable plaques, were injected with the GNP-HDL. Noninvasive detection of the plaques 24 h post the GNP injection was enabled using the diffusion reflection (DR) method, indicating that the GNP-HDL particles had accumulated in the injured site. Pathology and noninvasive CT measurements proved the recovery of the injured artery treated with the GNP-HDL. The DR of the GNP-HDL presented a simple and highly sensitive method at a low cost, resulting in simultaneous specific unstable plaque diagnosis and recovery