Fig. 2.

The roles of RVS on the markers of cholesterol efflux and macrophage polarization, autophagy activity and the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in the aortic tissues. a The molecules related to lipid efflux from the aorta were detected by western blot. b The proteins associated with macrophage polarization were measured by western blot. c qRT-PCR was used to examine the mRNA levels of macrophage polarization markers. d The molecules associated with autophagy were assayed by western blot. e Representative images of immunofluorescence staining of LC3II expression of aortic tissues, scale bar = 50 μm. f The molecules linked to PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway were examined by western blot. Data were expressed as the mean ± SD, n = 6. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs. the Control group