Figure 3.

Effect of bilateral CNCI and LIMK2 inhibition on corporal fibrosis after 1 week of surgery, as evaluated by smooth muscle cell (SMC)/collagen ratio. (a) Representative images for Masson's trichrome staining and (b) bar graphs showing the smooth muscle cell/collagen ratio (mean ± s.e.m.) among the five groups at 1 week after surgery. Smooth muscle and collagen fibers were stained in red and blue, respectively. Magnification images and black short arrows indicate the smooth muscle contents. Six rats in each group were analyzed for smooth muscle cell/collagen ratio. CNCI: cavernous nerve crush injury; LIMK2: LIM-kinase 2; S: sham surgery group; I: bilateral CNCI group; L: bilateral CNCI group treated with low-dose LIMK2 inhibitors; M: bilateral CNCI group treated with medium-dose LIMK2 inhibitors; H: bilateral CNCI group treated with high-dose LIMK2 inhibitors; s.e.m.: standard error of the mean. Scale bars = 200 μm in (a). ^*P < 0.05 when compared to bilateral CNCI (I) group.