Figure 5.

Hypoxic pre-conditioning of MSC-containing SDR favors high cellular infiltration in vivo. MSC-containing SDR were cultured under normoxic or hypoxic conditions for 2 days and then implanted into immune deficient NSG mice, following a skin excision procedure. After 2 weeks, animals were euthanized and scaffold and surrounding tissue were analyzed using laser scanning confocal microscopy. (A) Green shows the SDR (due to auto-fluorescence of collagen), blue shows DAPI staining of cell nuclei, and red shows the staining of GSLI isolectin B4 which binds to the terminal α-D-galactosyl residues of the glycoprotein laminin (GP) expressed by endothelial cells within the basal lamina of neovascular structures. The white line indicates the border of the scaffold and surrounding tissue. (B) Quantification of endothelial cells (ECs), as determined by the average number of GP-positive cells within the first 200 μm of SDR near wound edge. Scale bar represents 50 μm. ^*p < 0.05.