Uterine fibrosis in aged nulliparous Antxr2−/− mice is accompanied by atypical vasculature and inflammation.

(A) CD31 immunostaining (brown color) of three-month-old reproductive tracts reveal atypical/open blood vessels (arrows) throughout the Antxr2−/− uterus and cervix. Boxed areas are blown up to highlight vasculature. Ep, endometrial epithelium; CM, circular myometrium; LM, longitudinal myometrium. Scale bars on uterus photos, 200 µm. Scale bars on cervix photos, 150 µm. (B) Coimmunofluoresence for blood endothelial cell marker, endomucin (green color), and lymphatic endothelial cell marker, lyve-1 (red color) on three-month-old uterine tissue. DAPI (blue color) is used for nuclear staining. Lymphatic vessels (arrowheads) in Antxr2−/− tissue are enlarged. Scale bar, 100 µm. (C) Immunofluorescent staining for macrophage marker, F4/80 (red color), revealed an increased inflammatory response in three-month-old and ten-month-old Antxr2−/− uterine tissue. DAPI (blue color) is used for nuclear staining. Scale bars, 200 µm.