Figure 4

Effects of cell transplantation on blood flow recovery in the ischemic hind limb. A) Strategy to purify Flk-1⁺ cells and to transplant them into ischemic hind limb tissues. B) Representative LDBF images. A low perfusion signal (dark blue) was observed in the ischemic left hind limb of control mice, whereas high perfusion signals (white to red) were detected in Flk-1⁺ cell-transplanted animals (6 × 10⁴ cells) on postoperative days 3, 7 and 14. C) Quantitative analysis of the ischemic/nonischemic limb LDBF ratio on pre (Day-1) and post operative days 0, 3, 7 and 14 (n = 4). *p < 0.05 Flk1⁺ cells (6×10⁴) injected mice vs. control mice. D) Cell dose-dependent effect of transplantation seven days after surgery. Flk-1⁺ cells (2 × 10³, 2 × 10⁴ or 6 × 10⁴ cells) or PBS as a control were injected into the ischemic limb at postoperative day 1 (n = 4/each group, **p < 0.05 2×10⁴ or 6×10⁴ vs. control mice).