Fig. 5
Histological analysis of inflammation and fibrosis in each group. MI was constructed through ligating the left anterior descending artery and then injecting 1 × 106 different MSCs in 20 μl PBS into the peri-infarcted zones. Heart samples harvested 7 or 28 days after cell injection. a H&E staining of rat heart sections collected at 7 and 28 days post MI. b Masson trichrome staining of heart slides at 7 and 28 days after MI: red, myocardium; blue, scarred fibrosis. c Percentage of fibrotic area calculated and averaged by ImageJ software (n = 5). d Western blot analysis of collagen I and α-SMA protein detected in LV. *p < 0.05 compared with vector-MSC group. MSC mesenchymal stem cell, PBS phosphate-buffered saline