FIG. 3.

Circulating nestin⁺ MSCs are recruited to the arterial lesions and differentiate to osteoblastic cells in ldlr^−/−mice fed HFD. (A) Schematic showing parabiotic pairings. (B) Representative fields of double immunofluorescence staining of the aorta tissue sections from ldlr^−/− mouse partners in Para-1 (left panels), Para-2 (middle panels), and Para-3 (right panels) at 2 weeks (upper panels) or 10 weeks (bottom panels) with anti-GFP and anti-Ocn antibodies. (C) Quantification of the number of GFP⁺ cells per tissue area. (D) Flow cytometry measured percentages of GFP⁺ cells in peripheral blood of ldlr^−/− mouse partners at 2 or 10 weeks after CHD or HFD. (E) Flow cytometry analysis of the percentage of nestin⁺, Sca1⁺, and CD45⁺ cells in the sorted GFP⁺ cell population. (F) Quantification of the number of Ocn⁺ cells per tissue area. (G) Calculation of the percentage of GFP⁺Ocn⁺ double positive cells out of total Ocn⁺ cells. Data from five Para-1, five Para-2, and six Para-3. *P<0.001 versus control (Para-2 group). MSCs, mesenchymal stem cells.