Fig. 5: Therapeutic effects of miR-10a@H-MNP in vivo.

a Schematic illustration of the treatment protocols. b Body weight changes of ApoE^−/− mice treated with various formulations. Data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 10 independent samples). c Representative images of en face ORO staining of the aorta from ApoE^−/− mouse treated with different formulations (saline, miRNC@H-MNP, atorvastatin, miR-10a@NP, and miR-10a@H-MNP). d Quantification of plaque area using ImageJ. Data are shown as the mean ± SD (n = 10 independent samples). e Representative images of ORO staining in aortic root from different treatment groups and quantification of the area of the lesion (black dashed box) by Image J software (scale bar: 200 µm). Data are shown as the mean ± SD (n = 5 independent samples). f Representative images of H&E staining of aortic root in different treatment groups and quantification of the necrotic core area (dark blue solid line frame) relative to lesions area (black dashed line frame) using Image J software (scale bar: 200 µm), Data are shown as the mean ± SD (n = 5 independent samples). g Representative images of Masson’s trichrome staining of the aortic root from different treatment groups and quantification of fibrous cap thickness using ImageJ software (scale bar: 200 µm). Data are shown as the mean ± SD (n = 5 independent samples). h Representative images of Picrosirius red staining of aortic root from different treatment groups and quantification of collagen area (red) relative to lesion area (white dotted box) using ImageJ software (scale bar: 200 µm). Data are shown as the mean ± SD (n = 5 independent samples). P values in (d) were determined by One-way ANOVA analysis followed by Dunnett’s T3 multiple comparisons test. P values in (e-h) were determined by One-way ANOVA analysis followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. Panel (a) was created in BioRender. Fang, F. (2025) https://BioRender.com/pg60q9m.