Figure 4.

Evaluating the extent of microvascular occlusion after cholesterol crystal injection. Microvascular occlusion was evaluated 1 h after cholesterol injection by intra-arterial lectin injection and CD31 counterlabeling. A, Representative confocal micrographs depicting CD31-positive vascular endothelium (red) and lectin (red)-positive perfused vessels (yellow). Green vessels represent nonperfused vessels. Images were acquired from the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres of sham (control)- and diffuse microinfarction-treated animals. B, Quantification of the extent of lectin labeling of CD31-microvessels in the cortex and striatum. No significant reduction on vessel perfusion was observed in the contralateral hemisphere. A significant reduction in microvascular perfusion was observed in both the ipsilateral cortex and striatum (*p < 0.05 vs control; ANOVA).