Skip to main content
. 2023 Apr 25;24(9):7818. doi: 10.3390/ijms24097818

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Atorvastatin decreases hepatic cholesterol content and strongly reduces formation of cholesterol crystals in the liver. APOE*3-Leiden mice were fed a Western-type diet (WTD) with (n = 16) or without (n = 16) atorvastatin admix for 32 weeks. Chow-fed mice (n = 10) were included as a healthy reference. Representative photomicrographs of liver cryosections showing birefringent cholesterol crystals (A). Hepatic cholesteryl ester (B), free cholesterol (C), cholesterol crystal content (D) and hepatic concentrations of lipid species that were significantly altered in WTD-fed mice compared to chow-fed mice (E) were determined at the study endpoint (t = 32 weeks) and are presented as mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001 vs. WTD; ## p < 0.01; ### p < 0.001 vs. chow. CE, cholesteryl ester; Cer, ceramide; DAG, diglyceride/diacylglycerol; HexCER, hexosylceramide; LacCer, lactosylceramide; LPC, lysophosphatidylcholine; LPE, lysophosphatidylethanolamine; PA, phosphatidic acid; PC, phosphatidylcholine; PI, phosphatidylinositol; PS, phosphatidylserine; SM, sphingomyelin.