Fig. 5

Deficiency of Ckip-1 leads to severe atherosclerosis in Apoe^−/− mice. a Apoe^−/− and Apoe^−/− Ckip-1^−/− littermates were fed a Western diet for 8 weeks. Representative images of en face Oil Red O-stained aortas from mice with the indicated genotypes. n = 10. b Quantification of lesion area of aortic plaques from each genotype. n = 5. c Lesion area of atherosclerotic plaques of the aortic roots of Apoe^−/− and Apoe^−/− Ckip-1^−/− mice, presented for each genotype across the 400 μm of the aortic root. n = 4. d Representative images of cross-sections of the aortic roots from mice with the indicated genotypes. Scale bar, 400 μm. e Representative images of cross-sections of the aortic sinus stained with oil red O. Scale bars, 400 μm. f The distribution of early, moderate, and advanced plaques based on histological staging of the atherosclerotic lesions. g CD68-positive macrophages in lesions from mice with indicated genotypes on a Western diet for 8 weeks. Scale bar, 500 μm. n = 3. h, i Analysis of plaque composition: sections from aortic sinuses were stained with antibodies against CD3 (h, T cells; scale bar, 100 μm) or αSMA (i, smooth muscle cells; scale bar, 200 μm). n = 3. j Immunohistochemical detections of LOX-1 in aortas. Scale bars, 100 μm. n = 3. k Representative sections of H&E-stained aortic roots from each group (asterisk indicates necrotic area). Scale bar, 200 µm. The bar graph shows quantification of necrotic areas, n = 5. l Representative pictures showing the collagen (blue) content from each group. Collagen content statistics are also shown, n = 5. Scale bar, 400 µm. Data represent mean ± s.e.m. P values were calculated by two-tailed Student’s t-test (a–c, f–l). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. The precise P value and statistics source data are in Supplementary Data 2