Fig. 5

Fibrin constituted tubular connection between pores, which expressed CTGF in early stage, and later transformed into capillary-like structure of vWF⁺ with type III collagen deposition. a H&E staining. Blue arrow, tubular structure of fibrin between micropores; scale bars = 100 μm. b SEM images (2000×) show tubular structure provided a scaffold for cell attachment. Red dotted circle, tubular structure. c Immunofluorescence images of CTGF (red) at 1 week post operation. White arrows, expression of CTGF in tubular structure; scale bars = 100 μm. d Sirius red staining at 4 weeks. White arrows, type III collagen deposited in tubular structure at early (D1) and later (D2) stages of connection; scale bars =100 μm. e Immunofluorescence images of CTGF (red) at 4 weeks. White arrow, capillary-like structure of vWF⁺; scale bars = 50 μm. COL collagen, CTGF connective tissue growth factor, vWF von Willebrand factor