<i>SMC-specific Notch1</i> haploinsufficiency dependent regulation of SMC phenotype is associated with changes in CTGF expression.

<p>Representative images of IHC staining of abdominal aorta from respective experimental groups with antibodies against smMHC (<b>A-D</b>) and osteopontin (<b>F-I</b>) as markers of contractile or synthetic-phenotype marker of SMCs, respectively. IHC staining with antibody against Mmp12 (<b>K-N</b>), and Ctgf (<b>P-S</b>) performed on cross sections of abdominal aortae isolated from <i>Apoe</i>^<i>-/-</i> cell-specific <i>Notch1</i> haploinsufficient <i>Apoe</i>^<i>-/-</i> mice after 28 days AngII treatment. <b>Scale bars = 50</b> μ<b>m</b>. The IHC for respective immunostaining was quantified using ‘Fiji’ version of image J (<b>E, J, O, T</b>). Bar graphs represent fold change in gene expression of <i>Ctgf</i> (<b>W</b>), <i>Tgf-β1</i> (<b>X</b>), <i>Tgf-β2</i> (<b>Y</b>), <i>Smad2</i> (<b>Z</b>) and <i>Smad3</i> (<b>AA</b>) using mRNA obtained from aortae of <i>Apoe</i>^<i>-/-</i> and cell-specific <i>Notch1</i> haploinsufficient mice. The results were standardized to <i>Rpl13a</i> and reported as ratio to saline-treated mice (mean ± SEM, n = 3 for each group). (<b>AB</b>) Fold change in <i>Ctgf</i> expression in SMCs isolated from Apoe^<i>-/-</i> and <i>Notch1</i>^<i>+/-</i><i>;Apoe</i>^<i>-/-</i> mice at basal levels and in the presence of TNF-α. ***<i>P</i><0.001; **<i>P</i><0.01; and *<i>P</i><0.05 (ordinary ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni-Holm multiple comparisons test).