Fig. 4

TA muscle histological study following repair in four groups after transplantation for 8 weeks. a TA muscles harvested 8 weeks after VML injury. Longitudinal and cross-sections from four groups stained with H&E (D–K) and Masson’s Trichrome (L–S). b, c Surface ratio of new muscle fibers (b) and collagen fibers (c) formed in each group analyzed by Image-Pro Plus 6.0. n = 6 per group. #Area of the defect. Dashed line represents separation between two areas. Scale bar, 200 μm. Data shown as mean ± SD. **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001; NS, not significant (P > 0.05). PBS phosphate buffer saline, ECM extracellular matrix, MSC mesenchymal stem cell