Although we could not rule out the inclusion of pro-angiogenic non-luminal endothelial cells when counting caspase-3 positive cells, the facts that VEGF and caspase-3 expression vary inversely during ischemia, together with the fact that AQP1 knockout seems to even reduce angiogenesis, support our methodology [47,48]. This evidence concerns the gene CASP3 and ischemia.