Fig. 2: Angptl2-KD mice exhibit AoV defects at embryonic stage.

a Angptl2 gene expression measured by quantitative RT-qPCR in AoV leaflets from adult male WT and Angptl2-KD mice. Data are mean ± SEM of n = 3 for WT and n = 6 for Angptl2-KD mice; *: p < 0.05 determined with Mann–Whitney U test. b, c Front and side views of representative hearts from E10.5 and E11.5 embryos from WT and Angptl2-KD mice. Images are representative of n = 3 independent experiments. d Representative heart sections from E14.5 embryos from WT and Angptl2-KD mice stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. Higher magnification of AoV at E14.5 is shown in the bottom panel; the 3 leaflets of AoV are indicated by yellow stars. Images are representative of n = 3 independent experiments. e, f Representative AoV sections from E18 embryos from WT and Angptl2-KD mice stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. The yellow dotted lines represent the regions used for quantification. Quantification of valve thickness shows the enlargement of both (g) the leaflets and (h) the hinges of AoV in E18 embryos from Angptl2-KD mice compared to WT. Data are means ± SEM of n = 8 for WT and n = 9 for Angptl2-KD mice; up to 3 leaflets (n = 21 for WT and n = 23 for Angptl2-KD mice) and 6 hinges (n = 34 for WT and n = 42 for Angptl2-KD mice) were quantified per section; *: p < 0.05 and **: p < 0.01 determined with unpaired t-test.