Fig. 4

Effects of hADSCs on angiogenesis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis of wounds at D15 after treatment. a Immunohistochemical staining of CD31 showed more blood vessel structures on the wound bed in model rats treated with hADSCs were clearly increased compared with control model rats. Scale bar, 50 μm. b Quantification of blood vessel density expressed as the average number of CD31⁺ vessels per high-power field. c Cellular proliferation on the wound bed observed by Ki-67 immunofluorescence staining. The hADSC-treated group showed more positive cells than the PBS-treated group, indicating that hADSC treatment promoted cell proliferation in DFU healing. Scale bar, 100 μm. d Quantification analysis of the Ki-67 staining by digital image analysis. e Apoptotic cells detected by TUNEL assays. Few apoptotic cells were detected in the hADSC-treated group, suggesting that hADSC treatment reduced the apoptosis in the process of healing. Scale bar, 100 μm. f Quantification of TUNEL immunofluorescence staining by digital image analysis. Averaged data presented as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. hADSC human adipose-derived stem cell, PBS phosphate-buffered saline, TUNEL terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling