Figure 5.

Comparison of blood flow between MMP-9 null and wild-type mice for 14 days after onset of hindlimb ischemia. 129SvEv mice (wild-type) and MMP-9 null mice underwent surgical ligation of the femoral artery. Blood flow in the calf/foot was assessed by laser Doppler imaging before ligation (day 0) and at days 1, 3, 5, and 14 after surgery. Blood flow in the ischemic limb was expressed as a ratio of the blood flow in the contralateral nonischemic limb. Blood flow in the distal limb of the MMP-9 null mice was significantly diminished, compared with the wild-type controls, during the first 2 weeks after induction of ischemia. Each time point represents the average value for all animals at each time point (n ≥ 9). The asterisk denotes a significant difference (P < 0.05) between ischemic limb reperfusion in wild-type versus MMP-9 null mice.