Fig. 5: Nrg4 overexpression alleviated atherosclerosis in mice.
AAV-Nrg4 or AAV-Zsgreen at a dose of 1 × 1012 viral genomes were injected into the BAT in the interscapular region of KO mice at aged 6 weeks. a, Representative images of en face atherosclerotic lesion areas in AKO and DKO mice. b, Representative images of the cross-sectional area of the aortic root in AKO and DKO mice. Scale bars, 200 μm. c, Quantitative analysis of a (n = 6). d, Quantitative analysis of b (n = 6). e, Representative immunohistochemical staining images of VSMCs (α-SMA), collagen (Masson), macrophages (anti-CD68) and T lymphocytes (anti-CD3) in aortic plaques. Scale bar, 20 μm. f, Quantitative analysis of e (n = 6). g, Representative H&E staining images of plaque. Dashed lines indicate the contour of the lipid core. Scale bars, 50 μm. h, The quantitative analysis of necrotic core and fibrous cap thickness. The necrotic core is presented as a percentage of lesion area and the necrotic lipid core and the fibrous cap thickness is measured at the midpoint and shoulder regions of each lesion and quantified as the ratio of cap thickness to lesion size (n = 6). i, The expressions of MMP2 and MMP9 in mice aortic tissue. j, Quantitative analysis of i (n = 6). Statistical significance was calculated using two-sided Student’s t-tests or one-way ANOVA (Tukey’s multiple-comparison test). Data are shown as mean ± s.e.m. *P < 0.05 versus AKO-AAV (Zsgreen); **P < 0.01 versus AKO-AAV (Zsgreen); ***P < 0.001 versus AKO-AAV (Zsgreen); #P < 0.05 versus DKO-AAV (Zsgreen); ##P < 0.01 versus DKO-AAV (Zsgreen); ###P < 0.001 versus DKO-AAV (Zsgreen); NS, not significant.
