Figure 5

The connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) promoter is active in pericytes. Skin of CTGF/enhanced green fluorescent protein (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-GFP antibody to detect cells in which the CTGF promoter is active, 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 GFP positive, NG2 positive, and both NG2 and GFP positive was calculated as described in Methods. At day 3 and 7, note that essentially all pericytes were GFP positive, and hence showed CTGF promoter activity. Representative data from four wounds from four separate animals per timepoint is shown.