Figure 7. Transfusion of Tram^−/− resolving monocytes ameliorates atherosclerosis.

Recipient Apoe^−/− Tram^+/+ mice were first fed with HFD for 4 weeks. BMMs prepared from Apoe^−/− Tram^+/+ mice or Apoe^−/− Tram^−/− mice were adoptively transferred by intravenous injection to HFD-fed recipient mice (3 × 10⁶ cells per mouse) once a week for an additional 4 weeks. Samples were collected 1 week after the last BMM transfer. (A) Representative images of H&E-stained atherosclerotic lesions and quantification of plaque size demonstrated as the percentage of lesion area within aortic root area. Scale bar: 300 μm. (B) Representative images of Oil Red O–stained atherosclerotic plaques and quantification of lipid deposition within lesion area. Scale bar: 300 μm. (C) Representative images of Picrosirius red–stained atherosclerotic plaques and quantification of collagen content within lesion area. Scale bar: 100 μm. (D) Determination of total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the plasma. (E) Determination of circulating IL-1β, TNF-α, MCP-1, and TGF-β levels by ELISA. Data are representative of 2 independent experiments, and error bars represent means ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001; Student’s 2-tailed t test (n = 5 for each group).