Figure 4.

L635 treatment promotes a shift in telocyte distribution corresponding with proliferative zone expansion. (A) Immunofluorescence staining of Ki67 (white), FOXL1 (red), PDGFRα (green), and DAPI (blue) on L635-treated mouse stomach tissue. In untreated stomachs, Ki67-positive zone and FOXL1+/PDGFRα+ telocytes were located in the upper region. With L635 treatment, the progenitor zone expanded, accompanied by telocytes extending toward the gland's base. Scale bar: 100 μm and 50 μm for enlarged. (B) Quantification of telocyte count. The number of FOXL1+/PDGFRα+/DAPI+ telocytes increased with L635 treatment. Data presented as mean ± standard deviation (n = 4, except for Untreated, n = 3). n.s., not statistically significant; ∗∗P < .01. Dunnett multiple comparisons test; 1-way analysis of variance (F (2, 8) = 8.777; P = .0096). (C) Quantification of telocyte distribution within the gland. Telocyte distribution is illustrated in distribution histograms, where the y-axis represents the relative height within the corpus gland, divided into 10% increments (1 = top and 0 = base), and the x-axis represents the percentage of telocytes in each region. Extended treatment with L635 reduced telocyte distribution at the top but increased their presence in the mid and base regions. Data presented as mean ± standard deviation (n = 4, except for Untreated, n = 3). ∗P < .05; ∗∗∗P < .001; ∗∗∗∗P < .0001. Dunnett multiple comparisons test; 2-way analysis of variance for interaction (F (18, 72) = 6.704; P < .0001).