Cathepsin K Deficiency Impaired Ischemia-Induced Neovascularization in Aged Mice

Figure 4

CatK deficiency reduced bone marrow-derived c-Kit⁺ cell angiogenic actions in aged mice. (a–e) c-Kit⁺ cells isolated by magnetic beads were applied to the tubulogenesis, migration, invasion, and proliferation assays. (f) Representative immunofluorescence and quantitative data show a reduction of CD31⁺c-Kit⁺ double-positive cells in the ischemic muscles of aged CatK^−/− mice compared to aged CatK^+/+ mice. Scale bar: 50 μm. by Tukey’s post hoc test or Student’s unpaired -test.

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