Infiltration of COX-2–expressing macrophages is a prerequisite for IL-1β–induced neovascularization and tumor growth
J. Clin. Invest. Shintaro Nakao, et al. 115:2979 doi:10.1172/JCI23298 [Go to this article.]

Figure 5
Expression of COX-2 in infiltrating macrophages during IL-1β–induced angiogenesis. (A) Corneal neovascularization on days 2, 4, and 6 in BALB/c mice receiving DFU. (B) Quantitative analysis of neovascularization on day 6. IL-1β–induced corneal neovascularization in mice (n = 5) receiving DFU was inhibited compared with control mice (n = 7). *P < 0.01 using Student’s t test. (C) Comparison of levels of PGE₂ in IL-1β–implanted corneas with or without DFU. On day 4, 4 IL-1β–implanted corneas of DFU-treated and untreated mice were harvested. Corneal lysates were prepared and individually assayed for PGE₂ (n = 3). **P < 0.05 using Student’s t test. (D) FACS analysis of infiltrating cells on day 6 from 5 IL-1β–implanted corneas from BALB/c mice receiving DFU and control mice. The percentages of CD11b⁺F4/80⁺ cells in mouse corneas were 4.63% ± 0.52% (control) and 3.45% ± 0.57% (DFU treated). (E) Representative overview of an IL-1β–implanted cornea on day 4. Arrowheads indicate infiltrated cells (yellow) that are positive for macrophage marker F4/80 (green) and COX-2 (red). L, limbus. Scale bar: 50 μm. (F) Corneal micropocket assay model in mice. The rectangle represents the area of the cornea used in the immunohistochemical analysis in E.