Fig. 3.

The beneficial effect of estrogen is derived from the upregulation of SIRT1

A: E2 (10 nM) + sirtinol (50 µM) increase SA-β gal positive cells relative to E2 in HUVEC with ox-LDL treatment, suggesting that sirtinol abolishes the beneficial effect of E2. Scale bar = 50 µm *P < 0.05 vs. E2 + ox-LDL group

B: Animal experiment protocol

C: Representative images of Oil Red O-stained cross-sections of the aortic roots of OVX + E2 mice and OVX + E2 + sirtinol mice are shown in the upper panel. Atherosclerotic lesions in OVX + E2 mice are significantly lower than those in OVX + E2 + sirtinol mice. Scale bar = 200 µm

D: Representative band of western blot analysis and densitometric analysis in OVX + E2 mice and OVX + E2 + sirtinol mice are shown in the left panel. The ratio of p-eNOS to eNOS is the same in both groups. Ac-p53 and PAI-1 protein expression were higher in OVX + E2 + sirtinol mice than in OVX + E2 mice.

All data are shown as the mean ± S.D.; n = 4 in each group (A). n = 3 in each group (C, D). ^#P < 0.05 vs. ox-LDL+E2 group, *P < 0.05 vs. OVX + E2 group