CD44 and ischemia: We observed that CD44 expression in luminal EC was markedly higher in ischemic diabetic wounds than endothelium in the control hindlimb tissue (non-ischemia, PBS injection) of the same mouse (n = 8/group) (Fig. 2A), demonstrating that elevated SDF-1α in wound tissue caused the local endothelium to increase expression of the E-selectin ligand CD44.