Figure 4.

The effect of exercise on plaque volume, degree of stenosis, and composition in a late-stage model of atherosclerosis. Chow fed apoE-/- mice with late-stage plaques were exposed to exercise for 10 weeks at 40 weeks of age. Aortic sinus sections were assessed for (A) plaque volume, (B) plaque % stenosis, (C) vessel elastin, (D) plaque collagen, and (E) plaque SMC content. Data are expressed as mean ± SD. The x-axis represents the control (white bar) vs. the experimental (gray bar). Representative H&E stain of the aortic sinus in the control (F) and exercise group (G) (The inner dotted line in 4F shows the area of plaque formation in this section; the outer dotted lines show the lumen area at the same level of the aortic sinus – refer to Methods for description of plaque volume and stenosis calculations). Representative H&E stain of the aortic sinus in the control (F) and exercise group (G). Representative Movat's stain of the aortic sinus in the control (H) and exercise group (I). with magnification x 600. Arrows represents collagen (H) and elastin (I). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. Data are expressed as mean ± SD. SMC, smooth muscle cell. **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001.