Figure 7.

In vivo evaluation of the immunomodulatory effects of Ta₄C₃T _x MQDs in a rat aortic allograft vasculopathy model. A) Schematic representation of the model. The descending thoracic aorta was transplanted from male Lewis rats into the abdomens of male Sprague‐Dawley rats. Animals received a tail‐vein injection of 1 mg kg⁻¹ body weight of Ta₄C₃T _x MQDs and were kept for 7 days. B) The photograph showing the transplanted aortic segment. Arrows represent the proximal (black) and distal (white) anastomoses. C) Experimental timeline for in vivo evaluation of Ta₄C₃T _x MQDs. The donor graft was harvested immediately prior to the transplantation procedure and stored in ice‐cold saline until it was transplanted into the recipient. Tail‐vein injection of Ta₄C₃T _x MQDs was performed immediately after the surgical procedure was completed. Blood and tissues were collected after 7 days of transplantation for further analysis. D,E) H&E staining of explanted abdominal aortic segments. Obvious signs of inflammation could be observed in the transplanted groups. Furthermore, there appeared to be quantitative reductions in the degree of endothelial thickening and adventitial lymphocyte infiltration in the MQD‐treated group when compared to the vehicle control (insets and arrows).