Fig. 3.

Hmox1 overexpression drives ferroptotic cell death and exacerbates plaque instability.

A. Western blot analysis of Hmox1 and Gpx4 expression in MDFCs transduced with a control or Hmox1 overexpression vector (oeHmox1). B. Measurement of cell viability and intracellular ROS levels in control and Hmox1-overexpressing MDFCs. C. Measurement of intracellular iron levels and lipid peroxidation levels in control and Hmox1-overexpressing MDFCs. Scale bar, 50 μm. D. The top 20 upregulated and downregulated DEGs in the GSE28829 (stable and unstable plaque) and GSE163154 (non-IPH and IPH) datasets. Pearson correlation analysis showing the correlations of Hmox1 with CCLs and MMPs. E. The mRNA levels of Ccl3, Ccl4, Ccl8, Ccl19, Mmp7, Mmp9 and Mmp12 were assessed in Hmox1-overexpressing MDFCs. F. Representative images of transverse sections of brachiocephalic artery (BCA) lesions stained with haematoxylin and eosin, Masson and Oil Red O. Scale bar, 250 μm. MDFCs, macrophage-derived foam cells; DEGs, differentially expressed genes; IPH, intraplaque haemorrhage; CCL, C–C motif chemokine ligand. ns P > 0.05, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)