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Figure 6 Dual Immunofluorescence for PECAM-1 and TM
Dual immunofluorescence for PECAM-1 and thrombomodulin (TM) in whole mount control non-stented (A1 to A3) and stented (B) arterial segments. Panel A1, control shows strong cell-cell border localization of PECAM-1 while panel A2 shows diffuse staining for TM with relatively weak staining at the cell periphery. The merged panel (A3) shows minimal fluorophore overlap (yellow); TOTO-3 (blue) was used as a nuclear counterstain. Panel B represents low (upper row) and higher magnification (bottom row) merged confocal images of 14-day stents dual stained for PECAM-1 (green) and TM (red). The extent of PECAM-1 positive endothelial cells was variable for each stent type, with more uniform expression above struts in EES and BMS. Struts with poor expression for PECAM-1 were more frequent in SES, PES, and ZES. Thrombomodulin expression was weak or absent in all DES, while mild to moderate staining was noted in BMS. Abbreviations as in Figures 1 and 5.