Fig. 5.

Microscopic intestinal wound healing is improved by perioperative oral administation with P-C-Col IV-Ac2-26 NPs.(A) HE-stained longitudinal sections of the anastomosis were analyzed by an experienced pathologist according to the established Phillips-Score. A score of 0 (not detectable) – 4 (highly detectable) was awarded to the following items and summed up: blood vessel ingrowth, fibroblast ingrowth, collagen formation and absence of inflammatory cells. (B) Microscopical wound closure was scored by adding additional items to the Phillips-score, focusing on closure of the individual intestinal layers³⁴. (C) Representative HE-stained sections of the different groups are shown. Statistical differences determined by Mann Whitney U test for nonparametric results are indicated with *(P < 0.05), **(P < 0.01). N = 23 (P-C-Col IV-Scrm NPs), N = 21 (P-C-Col IV-Ac2-26 NPs 1 µg), N = 22 (P-C-Col IV-Ac2-26 NPs 10 µg). Three animals were excluded from analyses for reaching abort criteria (1 per each treatment group), 3 animals were excluded for intraoperative technical problems (2 in P-C-Col IV-Ac2-26 NPs 1 µg, 1 in P-C-Col IV-Ac2-26 NPs 10 µg).