Fig. 6

Activation of Cx43-formed hemichannels is involved in the progress of angiogenesis in vitro. Representative images of the formation of tubular-like structures in Matrigel by primary cultures of mesenteric endothelial cells after 12 h in control conditions or in the presence of 300 µM TAT-Gap19 (Gap19), a specific blocker of Cx43 hemichannels (left). In addition, the analysis of the development of tubular-like structure formation by the calculation of the angiogenic index observed after 6 and 12 h in control conditions and in the presence of Gap19 is also shown (right). Values are means ± SEM. *, P < 0.05 vs. Control by unpaired Student’s t-test