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. 2017 Jan 12;2(1):e90861. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.90861

Figure 6. Decreased lymphatic transport in aged mice compared with young controls.

Figure 6

Eighteen-month-old (aged) or 2-month-old (young) female C57BL/6J-Tyrc-J albino mice were s.c. injected with 5 μl of 200 μM 40-kDa PEG–IRDye800 conjugate (P40D800) in the dorsal aspect of the right rear paw. (A) Representative saphenous vein image of a young mouse 60 minutes after s.c. injection of P40D800 during anesthetized conditions with the paw massaged for 10 seconds every 5 minutes from t = 5 to 50 minutes. (B) Representative saphenous vein image of an aged mouse under the same conditions. Scale bars: 500 μm. (C) Saphenous vein signal enhancement plots of young and aged mice (n = 5 each). Dashed lines indicate SD. (D) Quantification of the fluorescent signal enhancement at t = 60 minutes. (E) Linear slope of signal enhancement from t = 30 to 45 minutes. (F) Time of arrival of tracer to the blood circulation (set at a threshold of 100 counts of signal enhancement). (G) Quantification of P40D800 fluorescent signal at t = 60 minutes after s.c. injection. Mice were awake and moving normally between the time of injection and imaging (n = 6 young, n = 7 aged). Red dashed line indicates baseline signal level. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 (2-tailed Student’s t test). Data are the mean ± SD.