Figure 1.

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) prevents vascular calcification in vivo. (A) Von Kossa staining of rat thoracic aorta. In the calcification group, there were dispersed calcified nodules among the elastic fibers. In the calcification + SO₂ group, Von Kossa staining showed dispersed calcified nodules among the elastic fibers disappeared. Scale bar, 20 μm; (B–D) Measurement of hemodynamics; (B) systolic blood pressure (SBP); (C) diastolic blood pressure (DBP); (D) mean blood pressure (MBP); (E) Quantification of calcium content of rat thoracic aortic tissue; (F) Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of rat thoracic aortic tissue; (G) Plasma ALP activity. ** p < 0.01 vs. control; * p < 0.05 vs. control; # p < 0.05 vs. calcification; ## p < 0.01 vs. calcification (n = 10 per group).