Figure 9. Evidence for heightened cardiac and macrophage inflammation in myeloid Vegfc–deficient mice.

(A) Flow cytometric analysis of the ischemic AAR, 7 days after MI revealed heightened levels of CD11b⁺Ly6g⁺ neutrophils, Ly6c^hi monocytes, CD11b⁺CD11c⁺MHCII^hi DCs, and CD64⁺F4/80⁺ macrophages. Importantly, the ratio of MHCII^lo to MHCII^hi macrophages within the infarcted myocardium was significantly altered in Vegfc-deficient mice. n = 7–9 per group. *P < 0.05, by 2-tailed, unpaired t test. (B) BMDMs from Vegfc^fl/fl and Vegfc^fl/fl LysmCre mice were assessed for indicators of heightened inflammation. Transcript levels were measured by qPCR. An increase in markers of inflammation in Vegfc-deficient macrophages was observed along with reduced expression levels of Arg1. n = 3–6 per group. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.004, by 2-tailed, unpaired t test. (C) VEGFC suppressed mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines. qPCR of LPS-treated macrophages in culture treated with recombinant VEGFC versus control. n = 6 per group. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.001, by 2-tailed, unpaired t test.