For analysis of capillary and arteriole density, gastrocnemius muscle sections (7 μm) were stained with
isolectin-B4 (Vector Laboratories, B-1205; 1:100) to identify endothelial cells and the smooth muscle marker, α-smooth muscle actin conjugated to Cy3 (Sigma-Aldrich, C6198, 1:100) as previously described
19 (link). High resolution images were acquired (at × 200) and counts from 18 randomly selected fields were averaged and expressed as the number of capillaries and arterioles (< 50 μm) per mm
2 of muscular sections
20 (link).
DNA fragmentation, associated with apoptosis, was detected in sections (7 μm) of gastrocnemius muscle using the commercially available terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) kit (
Click-iT Plus TUNEL Alexa Fluor 594 kit, Life Technologies). Sections were counterstained with Isolectin B4 to identify endothelial cells and DAPI to label nuclei.
Skeletal tissue fibrosis was detected in transverse sections (7 µm) of gastrocnemius muscle using Mason’s Trichrome staining.
Neale J.P., Pearson J.T., Thomas K.N., Tsuchimochi H., Hosoda H., Kojima M., Sato T., Jones G.T., Denny A.P., Daniels L.J., Chandrasekera D., Liu P., van Rij A.M., Katare R, & Schwenke D.O. (2020). Dysregulation of ghrelin in diabetes impairs the vascular reparative response to hindlimb ischemia in a mouse model; clinical relevance to peripheral artery disease. Scientific Reports, 10, 13651.