Histological and immunohistochemical characterization of plaques in the aortic sinus in apoE^−/− mice fed a high-fat diet (control) or a diet with 5% SPH for 12 weeks.

<p>Representative photomicrographs and quantification of maximum plaque area (panels A–C). Representative photomicrographs and quantification of extracellular matrix deposition (panels D–F), Lipid deposition (panels G–I), Macrophages (panels J–L) and T lymphocytes (panels M–O). The amount of extracellular matrix, lipids, macrophages and T-lymphocytes is expressed as percentage of the stained area over the total plaque area. Bar in panel A = 100 µm. Positive area (%) refers to the percentage of the plaque area occupied by connective tissue, lipids, macrophages and T lymphocytes, respectively. Data are shown as means ± SD for 6 mice for each diet and unpaired <i>t</i>-test was used to detect significance (*P<0.05).