FIG. 9.

Blood vessel topological assessment. (A) Schematic of the analyzed explants' area. MT cross-sections were imaged at 200 × covering the region occupied by the implanted patch (inside: I1, I2, and I3), the region underneath (below: B1, B2, and B3), and the edges where the material is sutured to the native tissue (left and right: L, R). The solid line around points I1–I3 indicated the approximated border of scaffold, whereas each point corresponded to the geometrical center of each image, and U1–U5 represented the upper border of the explants. Total vessel/mm² spatial distribution was provided in (B) for group S, (C) for S + ECM, and (D) for S + ECM + D. Each color map represented the mean of the spatial distribution for blood vessels detected on n ≥ 5 animals. Distinct patterns identified for angiogenesis and illustrated in (B–D) were quantified and sorted based on vessel morphology with (E) showing spatial distribution of capillaries (B, L/R, and I indicated the three different regions: below, edges, and inside). Distribution of small arteries, veins, and venules was provided in (F), while (G) offered the quantitative topological assessment for arteries and veins. For (E–G), n ≥ 5, *p < 0.05 between the scaffold groups. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea