Figure 2.

CD95L deletion prevented aneurysm formation. (A) Effect of CD95L deficiency on aneurysm development in the CaCl₂-induced aneurysm model. Aortic diameter increased in WT and CD95L^−/− mice after NaCl and CaCl₂ treatment are shown in the dot graph. The 10% increase in NaCl-treated mice is attributable to normal growth and development that occurs between 8- and 14-weeks. ^ǂP < 0.0001 compared to NaCl-treated WT mice; *P < 0.05 compared to NaCl-treated CD95L^−/− mice; ^#P < 0.0001 compared to CaCl₂-treated WT, ANOVA with post hoc test; (B–E) histological changes in mouse aortas (VVG staining). NaCl-treated (B) (n = 5) and CaCl₂-treated (C) (n = 6) aortas from WT mice; NaCl-treated (D) (n = 5) and CaCl₂-treated (E) (n = 5) aorta from CD95L^−/− mice. Each section shown is representative of 5–6 samples with similar results. (G–J) TUNEL staining of aortic tissue from NaCl- or CaCl₂- treated WT and CD95L^−/− mice (n = 5/group). TUNEL-positive cells (indicated with arrows) in the aorta were evaluated in a high-power field (40×). The dot graph shows the mean ± SE. No statistical difference (NS) was detected in TUNEL-positive cells between WT and CD95L^−/− mice using ANOVA with post hoc test (F).