Fig. 4

IRF1 enhances the wound healing in DM rats by upregulating the expression of miR-16-5p. DM rats were treated with oe-IRF1, oe-IRF1 + antagomir NC, or oe-IRF1 + miR-16-5p antagomir. A The expression of IRF1 and miR-16-5p in the rat wound tissues determined by RT-qPCR on day 14. *p < 0.05 vs. oe-NC-treated rats. #p < 0.05 vs. oe-IRF1 + antagomir NC-treated rats. B, Changes in foot wound diameter in rats on day 14. *p < 0.05 vs. oe-NC-treated rats. #p < 0.05 vs. oe-IRF1 + antagomir NC-treated rats. C Morphological and structural changes of rat wound tissues observed by HE staining. D Collagen deposition in the rat wound tissues analyzed by Masson staining on day 14. *p < 0.05 vs. oe-NC-treated rats. #p < 0.05 vs. oe-IRF1 + antagomir NC-treated rats. E Quantitative analysis of newly formed (left) and mature (right) blood vessels in rat wound tissues on day 14 assessed by immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent staining. *p < 0.05 vs. oe-NC-treated rats. #p < 0.05 vs. oe-IRF1 + antagomir NC-treated rats. n = 8. Measurement data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. Data among multiple groups were compared by one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s post hoc test for multiple comparisons. Repeated measures ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test was applied for the comparison of data at different time points