Lumen profile evaluation by in vivo micro-CT and histology

<p>(A) Volume rendering of a micro-CT angiography of a ApoE^-/- mouse infused with AuroVist nanoparticles at postoperative day 14 after partial LCCA (left common carotid artery) ligation. A virtual elastic sphere (yellow) is fitted through the segmented LCCA lumen (left panel) from the aortic arch to the bifurcation. The LCCA was segmented into nine equidistant parts (right panel). (B) Side dependent vascular lumen profile of the LCCA from the aortic arch (1) till the bifurcation (9) Shown are the averages of all mice (n = 10) in orange and mouse M1, corresponding to (A), in blue. (C) H/E stainings of LCCA at postoperative day 14 after partial ligation of the LCCA. Lumen, tunica intima (red dashed line), tunica media, tunica externa, inner layer of tunica media (yellow dashed line) and plaque are clearly seen. (D) H/E stainings of LCCA (M1) at postoperative day 14 near the aortic arch (1), the bifurcation (9) and each 500 μm in between. (E) Histological evaluation of LCCA lumen (upper panel) and plaque area (lower panel) from the aortic arch (1) to the bifurcation (9) (n = 10). Squares show the mean ± SEM of all mice. Dashed blue line shows one individual mouse (M1). Scale bars in (C) and (D) represent 100 μm.