FIGURE 4.

GM‐CSF deficiency reduces the porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE)–induced development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAAs). (A) Representative images of abdominal aortic fragments (left) and quantification of maximal diameters (right) of wild‐type and GM‐CSF^−/− mice 2 weeks after PPE‐mediated AAA induction. n = 12 per group. ***p < .001 according to unpaired two‐tailed t test. (B) Representative photomicrographs (left) and quantification (right) of elastin layers in the aortic wall by elastic Verhoeff‐Van Gieson staining at day 14, scale bar = 200 µm for whole aortic sections; scale bar = 50 µm for magnified areas. n = 5 per group. **p < .01 according to unpaired two‐tailed t test. (C) Representative photomicrographs (left) and quantification (right) of MMP2 and MMP9‐positive area in the aorta at day 14, scale bar = 200 µm for whole aortic sections; scale bar = 50 µm for magnified areas. n = 5 per group. *p < .05, **p < .01 according to unpaired two‐tailed t test. (D) Representative photomicrographs (left) and quantification (right) of CD3‐positive T cells and CD68‐positive macrophages in the aorta at day 14, scale bar = 200 µm for whole aortic sections; scale bar = 50 µm for magnified areas. n = 5 per group. ***p < .001 according to unpaired two‐tailed t test. (E) Representative flow cytometry images (left) and quantification (right) of Ly6C^hi monocytes in aortic aneurysms at day 7. n = 5 per group. **p < .01 according to unpaired two‐tailed t test for proportion and Mann–Whitney test for number