Fig. 4
Temporal quantification of MMP-1-, CD31-, Ki67-, and CD90-positive cells in perichondrium tissue. Abbreviations: Pre, pre-injection of bFGF (control); D1, day 1 post bFGF injection; D3, day 3 post bFGF injection; W1, week 1 post bFGF injection; W2, week 2 post bFGF injection; M1, month 1 post bFGF injection; M3, month 3 post bFGF injection. a Immunohistochemical staining with an anti-MMP-1 antibody was performed to evaluate type-1 collagenolytic factor. The graph shows the mean numbers of MMP-1-positive cells over the duration of the study. The differences in the numbers of MMP-1-positive cells comparing the controls to 1 day, 1 day to 3 days, and 3 days to 1 week were statistically significant. **P < 0.0001. b Immunohistochemical staining with an anti-CD31 antibody was performed to evaluate angiogenesis. The graph shows the mean numbers of CD31-positive cells over the duration of the study. The differences in the numbers of CD31-positive cells comparing 1 day to 3 days, 3 days to 1 week, and 1 week to 2 weeks were statistically significant. **P < 0.0001. c Immunohistochemical staining with the anti-Ki67 antibody was performed to evaluate proliferation. The graph shows the mean numbers of Ki67-positive cells over the duration of the study. The differences in the counts of Ki67-positive cells comparing 3 days to 1 week, and 1 week to 2 weeks were statistically significant. **P < 0.0001. d Immunohistochemical staining using an anti-CD90 antibody was conducted to evaluate MSCs. The graph shows the mean numbers of CD90-positive cells over the duration of the study. The differences in the numbers of CD90-positive cells comparing 3 days to 1 week, and 1 week to 2 weeks were statistically significant. **P < 0.0001. “Reprinted with permission from (Yagishita, M. 2013. Involvement of mesenchymal tissue stem cells and aquaporin 1 in rabbit auricular cartilage regeneration from perichondrium with full reference. Journal of Kanazawa Medical University, 38, 43–52.). Copyright (2013) publication administration of Kanazawa Medical University”