Morphology of aortic lesions from proximal aortic roots.
Representative section from the aortic root (at the level of the first
coronary) showing lesions in
Ttpa+/+Apoe−/−
mouse at low- (×4) (A) and high-magnification detail of
lower right profile in A (×20). (B)
Representative section at the aortic root lesion from
Ttpa−/−Apoe−/−
mouse at low- (×4) (C) and high-magnification detail of
lower right profile in C (×20). (D)
Lesions in
Ttpa−/−Apoe−/−
mice show more complex features, including a large necrotic core (NC),
numerous needle-shaped lucencies indicative of cholesterol crystals
(C), and fibrous capping (FC) from smooth muscle cells (stained red).
Within the lesion core, greenish-blue staining represents proteoglycan,
and yellow staining represents collagen.