After consuming an atherogenic diet for 12 weeks, aortas were dissected from Apoe−/−Adam15−/− mice (n=10) and their Apoe−/−Adam15+/+ littermates (n=10). A, en face staining of lesion with oil red O in thoracic-abdominal aorta (TA), *p<0.05 vs. Apoe−/−Adam15+/+ mice. B, C, longitudinal sections of aortic arches (B) and cross-sections of aortic sinuses (C) stained with oil red O for intimal area and lipid deposition. L, lumen; A, adventitia. D–F, cryosections of aortic were immunostained for macrophages (Mφ, D) and smooth muscle cells (SMC, E) with anti-Mac-3 and anti-α-actin, respectively. Collagen (F) was stained with picrosirius red. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 vs. Apoe−/−
Adam15+/+ mice. L, lumen; A, adventitia. Shown right are representative photographs.