Fig. 1
DT-109 ameliorates atherosclerotic lesions and macrophage infiltration. a Schematic diagram of the experimental approach. Twenty cynomolgus monkeys (male, age ≥ 9 years, BMI > 30) were fed a high cholesterol diet (HCD) for 10 months and then randomly divided to receive either DT-109 (150 mg/kg/d) or vehicle (H2O) for an additional 5 months, followed by pathological analysis of the aorta. b Lipid levels during 5 months of DT-109 treatment. Levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured (n = 10 for each group). Unpaired comparisons between vehicle and DT-109 groups at each time point were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test; * p < 0.05. c En face monkey aorta staining with Sudan IV (vehicle, n = 9; DT-109, n = 10). d Statistical analysis of the aortic lesions and the percentage of plaque in each part of the aorta. e Histological staining of the aortic arch with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), CD68 (macrophage marker), ACTA2 (actin alpha 2, smooth muscle cell marker, SMC), and Masson’s trichrome staining. Scale bar: 200 μm. f Statistical analysis of the aortic arch intimal lesions, CD68, ACTA2, and Masson staining areas (vehicle, n = 9; DT-109, n = 10). Data are presented as mean ± SD. All statistical comparisons between groups were evaluated by Kruskal-Wallis test. The exact p value is specified
