Dental Pulp Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuate Limb Ischemia via Promoting Capillary Proliferation and Collateral Development in a Preclinical Model

Figure 3

The proliferation of muscular tissues and formation of vascular lumens after treatments with MSCs. Four weeks after MSC transplantation, the muscular tissues in the ischemic area were collected, fixed in 4% formaldehyde solution, and processed. The proliferation in ischemic areas was detected by Ki67 staining using immunohistochemistry. The representative images are shown in (a). To determine vessel formation, the sections were also analyzed by immunofluorescence using an anti-rat CD31 antibody. The representative images are presented in (b). Moreover, the proliferative index and the percentage of Ki67⁺ cells were calculated (c), and the number of vascular lumens was counted (d). Data in (c) and (d) were shown as . , compared with the corresponding group.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)