Inhibition of miR-17 enhances angiogenesis in mice. (A-B) Effect of systemic infusion of 3 intravenous injections of antagomirs targeting miR-17, miR-18a, miR-19a, and miR-20a (8 mg/kg body weight, n = 3-5 mice per group, 2 plugs/mouse) or a control antagomir (antagomir-Co, n = 6) on miR expression in hearts harvested 7 days after the first injection. MiR expression was detected by a real-time PCR method using a universal TaqMan probe in combination with a miR-specific forward primer (A) and a TaqMan miRNA assay with higher specificity (B). (C-D) Effect of antagomir intravenous infusion at days 0, 2, and 4 on the number of lectin-perfused vessels in Matrigel plugs in vivo after 7 days; n = 4-10 per group. *P < .05 versus Antagomir-Co. (D) Representative images. Scale bars represent 20 μm.