Low and high magnification of immunohistochemical staining for Ki-67 proliferation marker in Native, VP and CABG stimulated veins.

<p>Arrows indicate cell nuclei expressing Ki-67. L: lumen, M: media, Ad: adventitia. (B) Quantification of Ki-67⁺ cells, expressed as a percentage of the total in Native <i>vs</i>. CABG and Native <i>vs</i>. VP cultured SVs. * indicates <i>P</i> < 0.05 by paired t-test (n = 3). (C) Zymography of MMP-2/MMP-9 and (D) α-SMA, GAPDH and TIMP-1 Western Blot analysis in protein extracts from Native, VP and CABG stimulated SVs. The bar graphs in each panel show the quantification and statistical comparison of the MMP-2 activity (n = 5), and the α-SMA and TIMP-1 (n≥3) expression level normalized to GAPDH in Native <i>vs</i>. CABG and Native <i>vs</i>. VP samples. * indicates <i>P</i> < 0.05 by paired t-test. The <i>P</i> value above graphs is indicated in case of borderline statistical significance.