Research Paper Volume 16, Issue 11 pp 9876—9898
High estrogen induces trans-differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells to a macrophage-like phenotype resulting in aortic inflammation via inhibiting VHL/HIF1a/KLF4 axis
Figure 1. Estrogen-induced inflammatory changes in the aortas of mice. (A) After three months of continuous intraperitoneal injection of E2 in mice, x-ray angiography was performed to observe the condition of the aorta, branches and organs. (B–E) Blood pressure and pulse rate in the tail artery of mice were monitored using a noninvasive sphygmomanometer (n = 6). (F–I) After sacrificing the mice, the hearts, livers, lungs, and kidneys were collected, and the organ/body wet-weight ratios were calculated (n = 6). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, indicating statistically significant data between groups; Abbreviation: ns indicates no statistical significance.