Figure 1.

Expression of FGF21, serum levels of ET-1 and NO, and pathological changes in atherosclerotic rats. The expression of FGF21 in arterial tissue of rats in different groups was detected by RT-PCR (A) and Western blot (B). Histopathological observation in arterial tissues were performed by H&E staining analysis (C) (at a 200× magnification) and quantitatively analyzed for the thickness of the endarterium (D). The serum levels of ET-1 (E) and NO (F) were measured using the assay kits according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Data are expressed in the form of mean ± SD for three independent experiments. Compared with the control group, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001; compared with the model group, ##P<0.01, ###P<0.001.