Figure 2.

Endothelial expression of the α₆ subunit during wound healing. (A) Shown are representative images of the expression of α₆ (red) and the endothelial marker CD31 (green) in 7- and 14-day wounds. Integrin α₆ is expressed by keratinocytes of the basal layer of the epidermis, hair follicles (normal skin), hyperproliferative keratinocytes of the wound, in addition to endothelial cells. (B) Quantification of endothelial expression of α₆ in normal skin (NS), and in 7- and 14-day wound tissue. Plotted is the mean percentage of vessels (±SD) identified by CD31 staining that are also positive of α₆. Sections of two wounds from each of the three mice were quantified per condition. Asterisks indicate proliferative keratinocytes in day 7 wounds and the keratinocyte layer in day 14 wounds. The majority of CD31-positive vessels in day 7 and 14 wounds express the α₆ subunit. Bar, 100 μm. SD, standard deviation. To see this illustration in color, the reader is referred to the web version of this article at www.liebertpub.com/wound