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Figure 4 | Fibrogenesis & Tissue Repair

Figure 4

From: Connective tissue growth factor promoter activity in normal and wounded skin

Figure 4

A subset of the myofibroblasts within wound tissue are pericytes. Skin of connective tissue growth factor/enhanced green fluorescent protein (CTGF/E-GFP) hemizygous mice post-wounding (a) day 3 and (b) day 7 was fixed, sectioned, and stained with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) to detect nuclei, anti-α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) antibody to detect myofibroblasts, and anti-NG2 antibody to detect pericytes (10 × magnification of dermal tissue). The center of the wound and wound edges were examined and the percentage of fibroblasts within the wound that were α-SMA positive, NG2 positive, and both NG2 and α-SMA positive was calculated as described in Methods. At day 3, note that ~20% of the cells in the wound area were both α-SMA and NG2 positive whereas ~40% of the cells at the wound edges were α-SMA and NG2 positive, indicating that pericytes are recruited to the wound from surrounding tissue. At day 7, note that essentially all cells in the wound area are myofibroblasts. Approximately 30% of the cells in the center of the wound are myofibroblasts of pericyte origin. In the wound edge, ~40% of the cells are myofibroblasts of pericyte origin. Representative data from four wounds from four separate animals per timepoint is shown.

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