Delayed wound closure in transgenic mice.

<p>Superficial scratches were made along the sagittal axis of the tail. (A) Wound closure measurement. The distance between the two wound margins was determined 18h after injury. Results were calculated as a mean of at least three independent measurements per animal. A total of 49 mice were used for these experiments (N<i>wt</i> = 20; N<i>tg</i>_<i>34</i> = 14; N<i>tg</i>_<i>46</i> = 15). Each bar represents the mean value ± sem. Statistical differences between <i>wt</i> and transgenic animals are noted *p<0.05, ***p<0.001. (B) Histology. All pictures are focused on the “left” side of the migrating wound margin (yellow arrows). Transverse tail sections of the wound site stained with hematoxylin and eosin revealed abnormal migrating epithelial tongues in transgenic tissue compared to control, including signs of microblistering (yellow arrowheads). Scale bar: 10μm. (C, D, E) Confocal analysis. Immunostainings are performed either on paraffin sections for anti-E-cadherin Ab (C), or on cryosections for anti-laminin (D) or anti-cortactin (E) Abs. White lines delineate the dermo-epidermal junction. Scale bar: 10μm.