Figure 2
From: CTLA-4 Protects against Angiotensin II-Induced Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation in Mice
Overexpression of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) limits elastin degradation and the accumulation of macrophages and effector T cells in aneurysmal tissues. (A) Representative photomicrographs of elastin, MOMA-2, and CD4 staining in the abdominal aortic aneurysm lesions of angiotensin II-infused apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe−/−) and CTLA-4-Tg/Apoe−/− mice. Boxed areas are expanded to show representative high-power fields in serial sections. Lm indicates lumen; M, media; Adv, adventitia. Arrowheads indicate CD4+ T cells. (B) Categorical score of elastin degradation and quantitative analyses of MOMA-2+ macrophages and CD4+ T cells in the aneurysmal lesions of angiotensin II-infused Apoe−/− and CTLA-4-Tg/Apoe−/− mice. n = 7 per group. Data points represent individual animals. Horizontal bars represent means. Error bars indicate s.d. *P < 0.05; Mann-Whitney U-test or unpaired t-test. Ang-II, angiotensin II.
