Different expression levels of the endothelial marker vWF and focal adhesion proteins in the 3D spheroids compared to 2D cultures.

The expression of the endothelial marker vWF (A) and the focal adhesion proteins vinculin (C) and paxillin (E) are shown in 3D spheroids by confocal microscopy. The fluorescence intensity of vWF (B) in HUVECs, vinculin (D) and paxillin (F) in MSCs were measured based on confocal fluorescent images of 3D aggregates and 2D cell culture using ImageJ. For the analysis of the expression levels of vWF, and the focal adhesion proteins vinculin and paxillin in MSCs in 2D compared to 3D culture, a two-tailed Student’s t-test was performed using GraphPad Prism 7. * p<0.05.