Fig. 1

Fibroblast activation, cell proliferation, and vascular infiltration accompany the appearance of senescent cells. A Establishment of the mouse RISI model and schematic diagram of sample collection. B Schematic illustration of the irradiated area in the RISI model. C Representative images of the general appearance of mice at different time points after irradiation. D Gross injury score, with scoring ranging from 0 (no injury) to 3.5 (complete moist breakdown of limb—often stuck to body); n = 5 for each group. Representative images of E HE staining, F Masson staining, G α-SMA⁺ myofibroblasts and H CD31⁺ endothelial cells at different times post-irradiation. Representative images of I γ-H2AX⁺ DNA damage cells, J TUNEL⁺ dead cells and K p16⁺ senescent cells immunohistochemical staining at various times post-irradiation. L Quantitative analysis of the positive signals of α-SMA, CD31, TUNEL, and p16 at different times after irradiation. 12 high-magnification fields were randomly selected, and the positive signal area was analyzed using ImageJ software. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. γ-H2AX standed for Phosphorylated histone H2AX, DAPI for 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, and TUNEL for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated fluorescein-dUTP nick-end labeling. Bars represented 100 μm