Figure 7. Heart valves from adult Sox9flox/+;Col2a1-cre mice are thickened and calcified.
Von Kossa stain was used to examine calcium deposition in mitral valve (MV) leaflets of control Sox9flox/+;Col2a1-cre−/− (A) and Sox9flox/+;Col2a1-cre+/− (B) mice at 4 months of age. Von Kossa stains calcium deposits black, as indicated in Sox9flox/+;Col2a1-cre+/− mice (arrows, B). Movat’s Pentachrome staining was used to show ECM distribution and organization in the MV (C, D) and semilunar (OFT) (E, F) valve leaflets of control and Sox9flox/+;Col2a1-cre+/− mice. Morphometric analyses show thickened valve leaflets in Sox9flox/+;Col2a1-cre+/− (D, F) mice compared to controls (C, E). Quantitative analysis of the fold change in the AV (G) and OFT (H) leaflet area (outlined in black) of Sox9flox/+;Col2a1-cre mice over controls is shown. Statistical significance (*) was performed by Student’s t-test (P < 0.01). MV, mitral valve; IVS, interventricular spetum; OFT, outflow tract.