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. 2022 Jan 1;12(1):379–395. doi: 10.7150/thno.67034

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Smad3 deficiency promotes β cell proliferation of islet grafts in db/db mice. (A, B) 8 weeks post-transplantation, β cells in the islets-bearing kidney were detected by the anti-insulin antibody and quantitated in serial sections as described in the Methods. (C, D) Two-color immunostaining and quantitation of PCNA+ insulin+ β cells (arrows) in grafts of Smad3KO and WT islets at 8 weeks after islet transplantation. (E, F) Two-color immunostaining and quantitation of BrdU+ insulin+ proliferative β cells (arrows) in grafts of Smad3KO and WT islets on day 7 post-transplantation in 12-week-old db/db mice. The images in the lower panel are the enlarged view of corresponding images in the upper panel as indicated. Scale bar, 100 μm. ***p < 0.001 compared with Smad3WT islet grafts.