Figure 5.
PEG-fibrinogen-pericyte constructs form ectopic muscle in vivo. Muscle-derived pericytes (MP) seeded onto PEG-fibrinogen scaffolds (MP + PF) were implanted subcutaneously in immunocompromised mice and extracted 30 days after grafting (n = 6). (A,B) Macroscopic comparison of subcutaneous MP + PF implants loaded with 5 × 105 young MP (black arrow) and 5 × 105 adult MP (white arrow) (A), revealing an ectopic, vascularized tissue-like formation (B). (C,D) Hematoxylin/eosin stained sections of ectopic tissue revealing similar muscular-like structures generated from young (C) and adult (D) MP. (E,F) Immunohistochemistry on young- (E) and old- (F) MP-derived ectopic tissue showing muscle fiber positive for myosin heavy chain (red/brown). Nuclei stained with hematoxylin (blue). (G,H) Enlarged view of, respectively (C) and (D), revealing the presence of vessels (arrows) in a muscle-like tissue. Scale bar: (A) 10 mm; (B) 2.5 mm; (C,D) 300 μm; (E,F) 100 μm; (G,H) 50 μm.