Fig. 3.

Evaluation of collagen content in atherosclerotic lesion of ApoE^−/− and ApoE^−/−;Nampt-Tg mice. a Masson trichrome staining images and statistical data of collagen content (blue) and necrosis core in aortic atherosclerotic plaque. **P < 0.01 vs. ApoE^−/−. Scale bar, 200 μm. b PicroSirius Red staining images under light microscopy and statistical data of collagen fibers (red). *P < 0.05 vs. ApoE^−/−. Scale bar, 50 μm. c Different fibrillar collagen types in plaque were assessed using polarized light microscopy with PicroSirius Red staining. Collagen I is mature and stained red-orange, and collagen III is immature and stained green. **P < 0.01 vs. ApoE^−/−. Scale bar, 50 μm