Figure 5.

Kefir peptides attenuate monocyte/macrophage infiltration and inflammatory cytokine expressions in HFD-induced atherosclerotic ApoE^−/− mice. (A) Representative images showing the lesion content of MOMA-2⁺ macrophage (upper panel) or lipid deposition (lower panel) in each group. Sections of aortic roots were stained with MOMA-2 antibody and Oil red O to visualize macrophage distribution within lesion area. The rectangles in the (A) upper and lower panels indicate the same area we chose, which are magnified in the middle panel. Macrophages were stained with MOMA-2 (green); Nuclear was stained with DAPI (blue). Scale bar: 200 μm. (B) The histogram shows the quantification data of macrophage infiltration within lesion area. Proinflammatory cytokine levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in serum (C and D) and in aortic tissues (E) were determined by ELISA and Western blot analysis, respectively. Aortic MCP-1 protein expression was also evaluated by Western blot analysis (E). (F) The histogram shows the quantitative densitometry data of the Western blot analysis determined by ImageJ system. Data are displayed as the mean ± SEM (n = 8). The statistical analysis was performed according to Duncan’s multiple-range method. The labels at the top of columns without the same letters indicate significant differences between groups (P < 0.05).