Figure 1.

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) knockout mitigates ischemic tissue damage. (a) Representative pictures of Hematoxylin and Eosin stained gastrocnemius muscle slices of control (above) and CIRP -/- (below) mice 7 days after femoral artery ligation (FAL). Right: Magnification of the areas indicated by the black square. Regenerating muscle cells showing centralized nuclei are a sign of ischemic muscle damage. Scale bars 1000 µm (overview) and 50 µm (detail). (b) The scatter plot displays the percentage of tissue damage in relation to the whole gastrocnemius muscle of control and CIRP -/- mice 7 days after FAL. The total gastrocnemius cross-sectional area (about 20 mm²) was analyzed. Data are means ± S.E.M., n = 5 per group, * p < 0.05 (CIRP -/- vs. control) by unpaired, two-sided student’s t-test.