Fibroblast Growth Factor-9 Activates c-Kit Progenitor Cells and Enhances Angiogenesis in the Infarcted Diabetic Heart

Figure 3

FGF-9 enhances c-Kit activation and vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation in post-MI C57BL/6 and db/db mice. Representative photomicrographs in (a) depict c-Ki progenitor cells in red (A, E, I, M, Q, and U), SM α-actin VSM cells in green (B, F, J, N, R, and V), total nuclei in blue (C, G, K, O, S, and W), and merged images (D, H, L, P, T, and X) for C57BL/6 and db/db groups. Enlarged images depicting colocalization of c-Ki and SM α-acti cells are presented in yellow boxes in (a) (D, H, L, P, T, and X). Scale bar = 100 μm. (b) The number of c-Ki/SM α-acti cells is significantly enhanced in the MI + FGF-9 group compared to the MI group in both C57BL/6 and db/db infarcted hearts. versus MI. VSM = vascular smooth muscle.

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