Fig 4. Long-term IF conditioning stimulates proliferation of ECs and improves rCBF after CI through the GDF11/ALK5 pathways.

(A) Proliferation of ECs 7 d after MCAO in each group as indicated by immunofluorescence. Arrows show the colocalization of CD31 (green stain) and Ki67 (red stain) in each group. Scale bar, 50 μm. (B) Bar graph showing the CD31⁺/Ki67⁺ cells/mm² in each group. * p < 0.01 in comparison with the IF group (n = 8/group). (C) rCBF (relative to baseline) as indicated by laser Doppler flowmetry in each group. # p < 0.05, * p < 0.01 compared with the IF group at the same time point (n = 8/group).