Figure 2.
Apoe–/–LmnaG609G/G609G mice with ubiquitous progerin expression exhibit severe vascular pathology, including lipid retention and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) loss in the media, and adventitial thickening. Mice were fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks starting at 8 weeks of age. A, Representative staining of aorta sections with Oil Red O (ORO) and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Graphs show quantification of lipid content in atheroma-free zones of the media (as % of the ORO-positive area) and adventitia-to-media thickness ratio; n=6 to 8. Scale bar: 50 µm. B, Representative immunofluorescence images of aortas stained with anti–smooth muscle actin (SMA) antibody (red) and Hoechst 33342 (blue). Graphs show quantification of VSMC content in the media as either nucleus count or % of SMA-positive area; n=5 to 8. Scale bar: 50 µm. Box and whisker plots in A show medians, interquartile range, and minima and maxima; data in B are mean±SEM. Statistical analysis was performed by 2-tailed Mann-Whitney test in A, and 2-tailed t test in B. ***P<0.001. a indicates adventitia; and m, media.