Figure 3.

IELLQAR decreases atherosclerotic lesions in WTD-induced mice. Eight-week-old male ApoE^−/− mice were randomized into one of three treatment groups: IELLQAR (1 or 3 mg/kg) or vehicle. All mice were fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks. (a) Representative images of Oil red O staining of the whole aorta after en face preparation and quantification of lipid content (lipid content/vascular area) (n ≥ 8). (b) Representative histological analysis results of the aortic sinus following H&E, Masson's trichrome, and Movat staining and quantification of the plaque area (plaque area/lumen area), collagen content (collagen content/plaque area), and necrotic area (necrotic area/plaque area) in the aortic sinus (n ≥ 5). Scale bar: 200 μm. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, and ^∗∗∗p < 0.001.