Figure 4. Presence of immune cells within the scar of iRhom2-deficient hearts at 28 days after myocardial infarction (MI).

Immunofluorescence of infarcted hearts 28 days after MI showed (A and B) reduced immune cells in wild-type hearts, while (C and D) iRhom2-deficient (iRhom2^–/–) hearts had persistent CD68⁺ immune cells (green, indicated by arrowheads) and disorganized type I collagen fibers (red) throughout the scar region after long-term repair. (E) Number of CD68⁺ cells within the infarct region was quantified relative to the scar area using ImageJ software. Scale bars: 1 mm (A and C) and 200 μm (B and D). Data are shown as the mean ± SEM, n = 3 per experimental group. *P ≤ 0.05, Student’s t test.