Confocal microscopy and histological analysis

Tissues were analyzed by cryostat section staining using confocal microscopy as previously described [5]. Jejunum and colon tissues were double stained with anti-SRF (1:500, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Dallas, TX) and anti-αSMA (1:1200, Sigma, St. Louis, MO) antibodies. Stained tissues were analyzed using confocal microscopy. For histological analysis, tissues were dehydrated, embedded in paraffin, cut into 4 μm-thick coronal sections, rehydrated and stained with H&E. Images were collected using an Olympus FV1000 confocal laser scanning microscope with Fluoview FV10-ASW 3.1 Viewer software (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) or the iScan Coreo scanner (Ventana Medical Systems, Tucson, AZ).