Fig. 1. Impaired SM22α expression is associated with the development of atherosclerosis.

a, b WT (n = 10) and Sm22α^−/− (n = 10) mice with or without Ldlr^−/− background (n = 10) fed Paigen diet for 8, 12 and 24 weeks respectively. Representative images of en face ORO-stained aortas (a), aortic sinus, aortic cross-sections (b) and quantification of lesion areas are shown. c M-mode and Doppler echocardiography images obtained from the aortic arch and outflow tract of WT (n = 15) and Sm22α^−/− (n = 15) mice fed Paigen diet for 12 and 24 weeks. A_s: outflow tract and aortic diameter in systole; A_d: outflow tract and aortic diameter in diastole. d Identification of SMC-derived foam cells within atherosclerotic lesion of Sm22α^−/− mice (n = 6) by CD68 (blue), ACTA2 (red) and Bodipy (green). Scale bar, 20 µm. Arrows indicated foam cells that were VSMCs-derived. e Representative immunofluorescence of LXRα (red) and quantification of cells with nuclear LXRα in the aortic sections from WT (n = 3) and Sm22α^−/− (n = 3) mice. Scale bar, 15 µm. Data and images are representative of at least three independent experiments. Data in (a) and (b) were analyzed by two-way and one-way ANOVA respectively. Data in (d) and (e) were analyzed by unpaired t test. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.