Table 1.
Primers for quantitative real-time RT-PCR.
Table 2.
Comparison of physiological parameters in 8-week 2K1C ApoE-/- SED and EXE mice.
Fig 1.
Comparison of atherosclerotic plaque extension among 8-week 2K1C ApoE-/-SED and EXE mice.
A, Representative photomicrographs of en face aortas stained with Oil red O. B, Quantitative morphometric analysis of Oild red O-stained lesions as percentage of total aorta surface. N = 7 mice per group. Box plots display interquartile ranges, whiskers indicate minimum and maximum values.
Fig 2.
Comparison of atherosclerotic plaques phenotype among 8-week 2K1C ApoE-/-SED and EXE mice.
Representative light microscopic photomicrographs and quantitative morphometric analysis of Movat pentachrome staining of lipid core areas (A), Sirius red staining of total collagen (B), anti-Mac-2 staining of infiltrated macrophages (C), and anti-α-SM actin staining of SM cells in atherosclerotic plaques from the aortic sinus. Results are expressed as percentage of staining area to total plaque area. (D), Plaque stability score calculated with the formula described in “methods” section. N = 9 mice in SED group; N = 14 mice in EXE group. Box plots display interquartile ranges, whiskers indicate minimum and maximum values.
Fig 3.
Comparison of local endothelial adhesion molecules expression among 8-week 2K1C ApoE-/- SED and EXE mice.
Aortic mRNA expression of VCAM-1 (A) and ICAM-1 (B) measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Data are expressed as fold change ± SD compared to SED (set at 1) after normalization to the 36B4 housekeeping gene.
Fig 4.
Comparison of local and systemic cytokines expression among 8-week 2K1C ApoE-/- SED and EXE mice.
Aortic (A) and splenic (B) mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-18, TNF-α and IL-6 cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ra, IL-4 and/or IL-10 measured by quantitative real-time PCR. N = 6 mice in SED group; N = 7 mice in EXE group. Data are expressed as fold change ± SD compared to SED (set at 1) after normalization to the 36B4 housekeeping gene.
Fig 5.
Comparison of local and systemic CD4+ T helper cells and macrophage polarization markers expression among 8-week 2K1C ApoE-/- SED and EXE mice.
Aortic (A) and splenic (B) mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages (iNOS) and Th1 cells (T-bet) and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages (Arg1) and Th2 cells (GATA3) measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Fold change ratios of iNOS to Arg1 (M1/M2 balance marker) and of T-bet to GATA3 (Th1/Th2 cells balance marker) were calculated. N = 6 mice in SED group; N = 7 mice in EXE group. Data are expressed as fold change ± SD compared to SED (set at 1) after normalization to the 36B4 housekeeping gene.