Fig. 4

UCX® increase capillary and collateral densities. UCX® or their vehicle (as a control) were administered in the ischemic gastrocnemius muscle 5 hours after HLI induction. (a) Representative sections from control and UCX®-treated ischemic gastrocnemius muscles at 90 days post-HLI. Capillaries and myocytes were identified by CD31 immunohistochemistry and haematoxylin, respectively. Scale bar, 125 μm. (b) Quantitative analysis, at 90 days post-HLI, revealed increased capillary density (capillaries/myocyte) in UCX®-treated ischemic gastrocnemius muscles compared to control ischemic ones. (n = 3 and n = 7 for control and UCX®, respectively; t (8) = 4.44; **p = 0.0057; effect size was 3.064 and power 0.97). (c) Illustrative images of selected regions of interest (ROI) for control and UCX®-treated mice. ISC and NISC limbs are shown. Scale bar, 1 mm (d) Data are represented as the percentage of collateral vessel density (CVD) increase of the ISC limb relatively to the NISC one. At 90 days post-HLI, UCX®-treated mice presented significantly higher CVD increase (%) when compared to control mice (n = 5 for each experimental group; t (8) = 7.63; ***P = 0.000062; effect size was 4.82 and power 0.99). ISC ischemic, NISC non-ischemic