Fig. 7

Macrophage depletion reduced growth factors in the expanded skin. Total RNA was extracted from the expanded skin with PBS liposomes or clodronate liposomes and normal skin, quantitative real-time PCR was employed to quantify the expression of VEGF, EGF, bFGF, and TGF-β. VEGF (a), EGF (b), bFGF (c) and TGF-β (d) dramatically decreased in macrophages depleted skin compare to control expanded skin at day 14. On day 35, only bFGF showed a decrease in macrophages depleted skin (c). Results are representative of three separate experiments from three animals in each group. VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; EGF, epidermal growth factor; bFGF, basic fibroblast growth factor; TGF-β, transforming growth factor, beta