Fig. 4. Psap mediates atherosclerotic plaque inflammation in Ldlr^−/− mice.

Ldlr^−/− mice were lethally irradiated and transplanted with Psap^+/+ or Psap^−/− bone marrow cells. Mice were left to reconstitute for 6 weeks after which they were put on a Western diet for 11 weeks (n = 10 mice/group for all panels). (A) Schematic of experimental setup. (B) Representative images of H&E-stained aortic roots. (C) Histologic quantification of plaque area at set distances from the aortic root, presented as mean ± SEM. (D) Lesion volume was calculated as area under the curve in C. (E) Representative images of Sirius red-stained aortic roots. (F) Histologic quantification of plaque collagen content. (G) Representative flow cytometry plots and (H) quantification of CD11b⁺Lin⁻ cells, macrophages (CD11b⁺Lin⁻CD11c⁻F4/80⁺Ly6C^lo) and Ly6C^hi monocytes (CD11b⁺Lin⁻ CD11c⁻F4/80⁻Ly6C^hi) in the aorta. Quantification of Ly6C^lo and Ly6C^hi monocytes in the bone marrow (I), spleen (J) and blood (K). Experiments were performed once. Data are presented as mean ± SD unless otherwise stated, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests were used. *P < 0.05, ****P < 0.0001.