Fig. 4

Gal-3 exerts pro-angiogenic effects only in men. Positive correlations between Gal-3 and VEGF-A (A), FGF-7 (B), VEGFR3 (C) and Chemerin (D) in AVs from men and women. Representative microphotographs of AV sections from AS patients immunostained for Gal-3 in combination with VEGF-A (E) and VEGFR3 (F). Protein levels of VEGF-A (G) and FGF-7 (H) measured by ELISA after stimulation in vitro with Gal-3 and with MCP or G3P-01. Gal-3 galectin-3, VEGF vascular endothelial growth factor, FGF-7 fibroblast growth factor-7, VEGFR receptor of vascular endothelial growth factor. N = 108 AVs from men and N = 83 AVs from women. In vitro: number of biological replicates: 12 men and 12 women; number of technical replicates: 3–6