Fig. 6.

SAHH declines and vascular senescence increases during the progression of atherosclerosis in ApoE^−/− mice.

(A) 8-week-old male APOE^−/− mice were divided into 3 groups (n = 6) and fed a western diet for 0, 6 and 12 weeks, respectively. (B) SA β-gal staining and CD31 immunohistochemical staining of the aortic arch and oil red O staining of the aortic sinus of the abovementioned mice (n = 6). Scale bar = 2 mm, 250 μm, 250 μm, and 500 μm (from the top to bottom). (C)–(D) Plasma concentrations of SAH and the SAM/SAH ratios in the abovementioned mice (n = 6). Plasma levels of SAH and SAM were measured by stable-isotope dilution liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. (E) Western blot analysis of p16, p21, p53, SAHH, and Drp1 protein expression in the aorta of the abovementioned mice (n = 6). SA β-gal, senescence-associated β-galactosidase. For all bar graphs, data are means ± SEM, *p < 0.05 (determined by the 1-way ANOVA). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)