Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 1 pp 89—103

Figure 3. LRP5 mediates age-dependent decline in vascular and alveolar epithelial morphogenesis in the gel implanted on the mouse lungs. (A) Immunofluorescence micrographs showing CD31-positive blood vessels and AQP5-positive alveolar type-I epithelial cells (top), CD31-positive blood vessels and SPB-positive alveolar type-II epithelial cells (2nd), CD31-positive blood vessels and VEGFR2 expression (3rd), and CD31-positive blood vessels and Tie2 expression (bottom) in the fibrin gel implanted on the 2M vs. 24M old mouse lungs or in combination with LRP5 overexpression for 7 days (scale bar, 20 μm). (B) Graphs showing quantification of CD31-positive blood vessel numbers (left), area of ECs expressing VEGFR2 (middle) and Tie2 (right) in the gel implanted on the 2M vs. 24M old mouse lungs or in combination with LRP5 overexpression for 7 days (n=7, mean ± s.e.m., *, p<0.05).