| In adult mice following ischemic stroke (A), Alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA) was specifically induced in pericytes (PCs) near Cluster of differentiation (CD) 31+
cells within ischemic areas. αSMA (B, C: green); CD31 (B, C: red); 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI; B, C: blue; arrows). In contrast, within contralateral nonischemic
areas (D), αSMA+ cells were rarely PCs. αSMA (E: green); CD31 (E: red); DAPI (E: blue). At 8 and 24 weeks during adulthood, the number of αSMA+ PCs
was significantly increased within ischemic areas compared with in contralateral non-ischemic areas (F). *p<0.05 versus non-ischemic areas at each week (n = 3; F).
Scale bars = 100 μm (B) and 20 μm (C, E). |
