Table 4.

Extracellular matrix proteins

	Normoxia	Hypoxia	P Value
Aorta
Elastin fraction, %	42.9 (42.1–43.1)	45.4 (45.3–45.7)	0.01*
Collagen fraction, %	27.7 (26.3–28.1)	26.2 (23.3–27.3)	0.08
Elastin-to-collagen ratio	1.52 (1.48–1.63)	1.73 (1.68–1.91)	0.03*
GAG fraction, %	3.61 (3.26–3.88)	4.04 (3.75–4.32)	0.12
GAG-to-collagen ratio	0.14 (0.11–0.14)	0.15 (0.14–0.19)	0.12
sGAG fraction, %	0.20 (0.14–0.24)	0.20 (0.18–0.24)	0.75
Pulmonary arteries
Elastin fraction, %	23.0 (22.1–31.0)	17.3 (16.6–17.7)	0.03*
Collagen fraction, %	36.5 (35.7–36.7)	39.6 (38.5–40.6)	0.03*
Elastin-to-collagen ratio	0.63 (0.60–0.87)	0.43 (0.42–0.45)	0.03*
GAG fraction, %	5.81 (5.20–6.15)	6.36 (6.24–6.42)	0.03*
GAG-to-collagen ratio	0.16 (0.15–0.17)	0.16 (0.15–0.17)	0.72
sGAG fraction, %	0.46 (0.31–0.66)	0.44 (0.37–0.51)	1.0

Data are presented as medians (25–75% quartiles). GAG, glycosaminoglycan; sGAG, sulfated GAG. Excess artery tissues from 10 normoxic and hypoxic rats were gathered into three to five sample pools, and the protein content are expressed as the percentage of defatted dry weight.

^*P < 0.05.