Fig. 2

MR imaging of vascular system and muscle regeneration in mouse gastrocnemius muscle after the hindlimb ischemia. The mice given hADSC demonstrated improved functional outcomes as compared to the control mice (PBS⁻) (n = 10)*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 by the U Mann-Whitney test (a). Effectiveness of femoral artery ligation and consecutive restoration of the blood flow in the ischemic hindlimbs were visually evaluated using magnetic resonance angiography. Representative magnetic resonance angiography images (maximum intensity projections) of mouse hindlimbs were acquired immediately after the femoral artery ligation (b—control mouse, f—hADSC treated mouse), on day 3 (c—control mouse, g—hADSC treated mouse), on day 7 (d—control mouse, h—hADSC-treated mouse) and on day 14 (e—control mouse, i—hADSC-treated mouse). The representative images of the transverse sections of the gastrocnemius muscle tissues by H&E staining after PBS⁻ (j, k, l, m) and hADSC (n, o, p, r) injection at 3, 7, 14, and 21 days after surgery. Necrotic muscle fibers (black arrows) with pale cytoplasm were observed at 3 (j), 7 (k), and 14 (l) days after the PBS⁻ administration. Regenerative small, basophilic muscle fibers with one or more centrally located nuclei (white arrows) were observed in all hADSC groups. Scale bar: 100 μm (× 20 magnification)