Table 1.
Atherosclerotic plaque morphometry in mixed strain Apoe knockout mice deficient in transglutaminases TG2 and or FXIII-A.
| Parameter | Apoe−/-(n = 30) | Apoe−/-/F13a1−/−(n = 28) | Apoe−/-/Tgm2−/−(n = 30) | Apoe−/-/Tgm2−/−/F13a1−/−(n = 27) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brachiocephalic artery | Plaque area (x 103 μm2) | 106 ± 8 | 106 ± 7 | 102 ± 7 | 76 ± 10* |
| Buried fibrous caps (per mm2 plaque area) | 14.8 ± 2.4 | 13.8 ± 1.7 | 12.5 ± 3.2 | 11.5 ± 2.5 | |
| Elastin content (%) | 17.2 ± 1.6 | 13.1 ± 1.9 | 11.0 ± 1.2 | 13.0 ± 2.2 | |
| Lipid content (%) | 13.9 ± 1.6 | 11.7 ± 1.8 | 16.1 ± 1.6 | 15.5 ± 2.5 | |
| Medial collagen content (%) | 18.5 ± 2.7 | 22.1 ± 3.0 | 18.0 ± 2.8 | 11.4 ± 1.6 | |
| Plaque collagen content (%) | 29.2 ± 2.2 | 31.2 ± 2.0 | 21.5 ± 2.1*** | 19.6 ± 2.4*** | |
| Plaque acidic proteoglycan content (%) | 10 ± 2 | 8 ± 1 | 9 ± 2 | 3 ± 1** | |
| Plaque lectin staininga | 19.0 ± 3.1 | 16.7 ± 2.4 | 21.5 ± 4.0 | 24.2 ± 3.9 | |
| Aortic sinus | Vessel area (x 103 μm2) | 1284 ± 60 | 1254 ± 63 | 1351 ± 51 | 1239 ± 75 |
| Plaque area (x 103 μm2) | 59 ± 5 | 52 ± 4 | 65 ± 4 | 62 ± 6 | |
| Elastin content (%) | 11 ± 1 | 10 ± 2 | 8 ± 1 | 9 ± 1 | |
| Lipid content (%) | 6 ± 1 | 5 ± 1 | 8 ± 1 | 9 ± 1 | |
| Collagen content (%) | 54 ± 5 | 55 ± 2 | 54 ± 4 | 58 ± 1 | |
| Acidic proteoglycan content (%) | 10 ± 3 | 10 ± 4 | 14 ± 4 | 13 ± 2 |
Brachiocephalic plaque area (*p < 0.05), content of acidic proteoglycan (**p < 0.01) and collagen (***p < 0.001) differed between genotypes. Other parameters were unchanged.
a
Plaques were stained with Griffonia Simplicifolia lectin I isolectin B4 (GSA 1B4) to detect infiltration of activated macrophages.