Fig. 1

Microtubule stabilization reverses the reduction of proliferation, survival rate, migration, barrier integrity and microtubular depolymerization induced by hypoxia in HUVECs. HUVECs were cultured under normoxic or hypoxic conditions with or without pretreatment of 10 μM paclitaxel or 4 μM colchicine for 1 h. a Cells were immunostained by BrdU antibody and DAPI for proliferation assay. Bar = 50 μm. b The survival rate (%) of HUVECs was determined using MTT assay. c Permeability of HUVECs was tested in cell culture inserts through determining the fluorescence leaked into lower chamber. All the data were normalized to control group. d Cell migration was tested by transwell method. e HUVECs were processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to examine microtubular structure, bar = 200 nm. f Hypoxia-induced microtubule depolymerization was shown by immunofluorescent confocal micrographs in HUVEC cells. Cells were stained with phalloidin (green) and the nuclear stain DAPI (blue). Bar = 50 μm. Representative results from three independent experiments were depicted here. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05