Fig. 6

Histological analysis of the subcutaneous implantation sites in immunosuppressed mice, hematoxylin–eosin, scale bar—100 µm. A, C, E The implant (highlighted with dotted line) consisted of the decellularized matrix containing the extracellular components of the cartilaginous ring and submucosa. The implant was surrounded by a loose layer of parallelly oriented collagen fibers and fibroblasts. B, D, F The implanted tissue-engineered cartilage construct was surrounded by a relatively thick connective tissue capsule (*)