Fig. 3.

In vivo evaluation of cross-linked dECM for uterus regeneration and its fabrication using a xenogeneic rat model. Dotted lines indicate the repair sites. Thirty days after surgery, dUECM without crosslinking treatment were entirely degraded and the rat uterus only connected by the outer adhesive mucosa. The cross-linked dUECM remained at the implanted site but significantly decreased in size. After 90 days, PC-M-crosslinking group exhibited best regeneration results with limited scaffold remained and apparent uterus regeneration as evidenced by newborn uterus tissues near the implanted area (A). H&E and immunohistochemical staining of Ki67, ɑ-SMA, TNF-ɑ, and CD68 after xenotransplantation of cross-linked dUECM at 90 days. Positive staining is indicated by the red arrows. The scale bar represents 100 ​μm. ∗p< ​0.05; ∗∗∗p< ​0.001; n ​= ​3. Data were expressed as mean ​± ​standard deviation. At a minimum, three samples were represented for each data point. Statistical analysis of experimental data was accomplished using two-tailed analysis of variance, performed with a statistical computer program (Student's t-test), and p values ​< ​0.05 were considered statistically significant (B). PC-L, low concentration of procyanidin (PC) (0.05%) cross-linked dUECM. PC-M, middle concentration of procyanidin (PC) (0.1%) cross-linked dUECM. PC-H, high concentration of procyanidin (PC) (0.2%) cross-linked dUECM. GP-M, middle concentration of genipin (GP) (0.625%) crosslinked dUECM. (Reproduced with permission of Ref. [78])