FIGURE 7.

Overexpression of CTRP9 inhibits vascular senescence and reduces atherosclerotic plaque formation in STZ-induced ApoE KO mice. (A) Transfection efficiency of CTRP9 lentivirus in aortic roots was measured by immunofluorescence staining. The images were taken at ×100magnification and sections were stained with CTRP9 (red) and DAPI (blue). A representative image from three separate experiments is illustrated. (B) Expression of CTRP9 protein levels in aortic tissue was detected by immunoblotting. Results were normalized to controls, and histograms represent the relative intensity of CTRP9. Values represent mean ± SEM (n = 3–4 per group). *p < 0.05, significantly different from the Lv-GFP group. (C) The aortas were stained with SA-β-gal to analyse vascular senescence degree. (E) The aortas roots were stained with H&E to estimate the size of atherosclerosis lesions. (D,F) Quantitative analysis of lesion areas in aortas and aortic roots. Values represent mean ± SEM (n = 3–4 per group). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.