Fig. 8.

SMC Col15a1 knockout resulted in a decrease in lesion cell death. A: representative immunofluorescent images of SMC YFP^+/+ Col15a1^wt/wt, Apoe^−/− (n = 11) and SMC YFP^+/+ Col15a1^Δ/Δ, Apoe^−/− (n = 13) lesions stained for the cell death marker cleaved caspase-3 (CASP3⁺). B and C: quantification of CASP3⁺ cells counted per lesion (B) and percentages of CASP3⁺ cells within lesions (C; CASP3⁺/DAPI⁺) showed that SMC YFP^+/+ Col15a1^Δ/Δ, Apoe^−/− mice have significantly fewer dying cells compared with SMC YFP^+/+ Col15a1^wt/wt, Apoe^−/− mice. Values represent means ± SE. Scale bars = 100 µm and on zoom in images 25 µm. ^P value from a Mann-Whitney U-test.