Fig. 1: Nrg4 deficiency is associated with endothelial injury and inflammation in mice.
KO and WT mice aged 6 weeks were divided into four groups (WT-NCD, KO-NCD, WT-WD and KO-WD) and were fed their respective diets for 12 weeks (6 mice in each group). a, Representative images of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining in sections of thoracic aortas. TUNEL (apoptotic cells, red), anti-CD31 (endothelial cells, green) and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (nuclei, blue). Arrows indicate CD31/TUNEL colocalization. Scale bars, 10 μm. b, The percentage of apoptotic endothelial cells (n = 6). c,d, The vasodilation responses to acetylcholine (Ach) (c) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (d) (n = 4). e, Representative electron microscopy images of endothelium. EC, endothelial cell; IEL, internal elastic lamina. Scale bars, 5 μm. f, The mRNA levels of inflammation (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) and adhesion molecules (VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin) in MAECs of mice (n = 6). P values were calculated by two-sided Student’s t-test (b,f) and two-sided Student’s t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s multiple-comparison test (c,d). The data are presented as mean ± s.e.m. #P < 0.05 versus WT-NCD; ##P < 0.01 versus WT-NCD; *P < 0.05 versus WT-WD; **P < 0.01 versus WT-WD.
