Fig. 9

Immunostaining for vascularization and monocyte invasion to transplanted CS. Images were acquired from CS and skeletal muscle sections extracted at day 14 of the experiment and stained for blood vessel and monocyte antigens. a Representative image of blood vessels within CS and corresponding H & E staining. b Representative image of larger blood vessels within transplanted CS (green arrow - α-SMA-positive blood vessels; yellow arrow - α-SMA-negative). c Microphotographs illustrating CD68+ monocyte infiltration (DAB-visualized) to mock-transduced of VEGF-expressing CS. d Graphic presentation of monocyte counts within CS from corresponding study groups; Mann–Whitney U test. CS cell sheet, H & E hematoxylin and eosin, α-SMA α-smooth muscle actin, DAB diaminobenzidine, VEGF vascular endothelial growth factor