Research Perspective Advance Articles

Figure 4. Enhanced exercise by RGS14 KO mice is mediated by BAT and angiogenesis/arteriogenesis increasing hindlimb blood flow. Non-linear contrast imaging was used to measure hindlimb blood flow. The average data are presented as % of WT perfusion, which is represented as 100% (A). Hindlimb blood flow was higher in RGS14 KO mice compared to WT mice, and higher in WT mice that received RGS14 KO BAT, at 3 days after transplantation (A, B), while RGS14 KO BAT donors lost their enhanced hindlimb perfusion, with results similar to WT mice (A). WT BAT recipients showed greater hindlimb perfusion at 8 weeks after transplantation of BAT from C57BL6/J WT mice to other C57BL6/J WT mice (A). Angiogenesis (reflected by capillary density) and arteriogenesis (reflected by arteriole density) were both increased in skeletal muscle of RGS14 KO mice (B, C) and RGS14 KO BAT recipients (D, E), which correlated with increased VEGF in skeletal muscle (F) and BAT (G). Increased angiogenesis (D) and arteriogenesis (E) were not observed in RGS14 KO BAT donors. Results are expressed as Mean ± SEM, ^*p < 0.05. Reprinted from Vatner DE, et al Aging Cell. 2023; 22(4).