Figure 4

F6 and S5 promote fibroblast migration into the scratch wound, ex vivo. Assessment of migration of fibroblasts into a midline gap evoked by incubation with furan fatty acid F6 and the steroid S5 at indicated doses. (A) photographs of the midline gaps in the presence of the two compounds (S5 or F6 and their vehicle control) at gap initiation (0 h) and 24 h following incubation. Photographs show the transparent cells on a dark background with manual integration. (B) the number of cells infiltrated into the gap after 0, 24, and 48 h from binarized images using an automated segmentation and quantification program designed to measure black-to-white (B/W) pixel ratio (based on similar images shown on panel A). Blue lines represent the B/W pixel ratios for the 1600 columns of the images taken immediately following monolayer disruption (0 h). The red and grey lines describe the B/W pixel ratios for the 1600 columns of the images taken 24 h and 48 h following monolayer disruption, respectively. (C) Quantitative analyses of the data at 24 h in terms of cell to space ratio, show the fibroblast migration into the scratch wound (n = 3-4, p < 0.05; *, significantly different compared to the control).