Fig. 1

Native bovine carotid arteries (BCA, a, c, e, g, i, k, m) were compared to decellularized BCA (b, d, f, h, j, l, n). Following decellularization, complete removal of nuclei (b, d) was observed in H/E- (a, b) and DAPI (c, d) staining. Further histochemical characterization of ECM for collagen I (e, f), collagen IV (g, h), fibronectin (i, j), laminin (k, l) and Picrosirius red (m, n) showed successful retention of abundant ECM components. L, M and A indicate lumen, media and adventitia, respectively. Scale bar represents 100 μm