The Application of Three-Dimensional Collagen-Scaffolds Seeded with Myoblasts to Repair Skeletal Muscle Defects
Figure 6
(a) Three months after implantation in vivo, large dystrophin-positive grafts were visualized ((a) B, E, H). CD31-positive cells were detected within the dystrophin-positive grafts indicative that vascularization and regeneration were occurring ((a) A–C). Neurofilament protein was visualized within the dystrophin-positive grafts revealing that innervations were forming along with the regenerating myofibers ((a) D–F). The majority of the dystrophin-positive grafts stained positively for fast myosin-heavy chain protein ((a) G–I). (b) Three months after implantation in vivo, all newly formed myofibers stained positive for dystrophin ((b) A dystrophin-red). A small quantity of the dystrophin-positive myofibers stained positive for slow myosin-heavy chain protein ((b) B slow MyHC-gray). A larger quantity of the dystrophin-positive myofibers stained positive for fast myosin-heavy chain protein ((b) C fast MyHC-green). (b) D displays a merged image revealing the distribution of the two types of myosin-heavy chain proteins.
