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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jun 2.
Published in final edited form as: Cell Transplant. 2015 May 13;25(2):313–326. doi: 10.3727/096368915X688209

Figure 2.

Figure 2

MSC transplantation improved neural vascularity in diabetic nerves. Rat hindlimbs were perfused with FITC-conjugated BS-1 lectin 4 and 8 weeks after MSC transplantation to visualize functional blood vessels. In longitudinal whole-mount images of the sciatic nerves, vasa nervora, represented by green fluorescence (A), and quantification of vascular area at 8 weeks after MSC transplantation (B) indicated that control diabetic nerves (DM + PBS) showed a marked decrease in small branches of large epineurial blood vessels and percent vascular area. This reduced neural vascularity in diabetic control rats (DM + PBS) compared to nondiabetic rats (NDM + PBS) was significantly increased after MSC transplantation (DM-MSC). n = 4. Abbreviations: MSC, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; DM + MSC, diabetic rats treated with MSCs; DM + PBS, diabetic rats treated with PBS; NDM + PBS, non-diabetic rats treated with PBS. Scale bar: 100 μm.