Figure 1.

High numbers of B and T cells are harbored in perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). (A) Aorta (without PVAT) of young ApoE^−/− mice was carefully dissected, stained with OilRedO and Hematoxylin. Dotted line represents the border between smooth muscle cell (SMC) and adventitial layers. (B) CD19⁺ B cells, CD5⁺ T cells and CD5 and CD19 double negative (DN) non T and B cells were gated from total live CD45⁺ cells and these B, T and DN subsets were quantified in aorta and PVAT of 8–10 weeks old ApoE^−/− mice fed normal Chow diet by flow cytometry. (C) Representative Sudan IV staining of aortas collected from Chow-fed ApoE^−/− mice at 8 weeks and 20 weeks (maintained on Western diet (WD) for the last 12 weeks) of age. (D) Quantification of the percent of leukocytes (CD45⁺) in the aorta and PVAT of these 8 weeks (n = 7) and 20 weeks (n = 3) old ApoE^−/− mice that were CD19⁺ B cells and CD5⁺ T cells. Results are mean ± SEM, unpaired student t-test was performed (^**p < 0.01, ^***p < 0.001).