Fig. 3.

Impaired ischemia-induced angiogenesis, pericyte recruitment, and gene expression in eNOS (-/-) mice. Gastrocnemius muscles of ischemic mice were immunostained for PECAM-1 (an endothelial cell marker) only (A with quantification in B) or PECAM-1 and SMA (a smooth muscle/pericyte marker in C with quantification in D). Data represent mean ± SEM; n = 8 mice per strain in B and D; ^*, P < 0.05. The expression of angiogenic and remodeling genes were assessed by qPCR in the gastronemius after 3 days (E) and two weeks (F) after ischemia. Data represent the differences in gene expression in C57BL/6 compared with eNOS (-/-) mice. Data are average determinations of relative gene expression in ischemic/nonischemic limbs from RNA pooled from three mice per strain per time point.