Fig. 4

GCX in carotid artery rings of different mice cohorts was stained with WGA tagged with red fluorescence. Blue signifies DAPI labeled cell nuclei and green signifies elastin autofluorescence. These confocal images are representatives of arterial rings in the cohorts. a 20x image of the LCA obtained from an ApoE-KO mouse with a regular chow diet and exposed to uniform blood flow patterns. b 20x image of the LCA from an ApoE-KO mouse fed a HFD and exposed to uniform flow. c 20x image of the LCA from an ApoE-KO mouse on a regular chow diet and exposed to disturbed blood flow due to partial ligation. d 63x image of (a) zoomed in on the boxed area, showing a continuous GCX layer. e 63x image of (b) zoomed in on the boxed area, showing a discontinuous GCX layer. f 63x image of (c) zoomed in on the boxed area also, also showing a compromised GCX layer. g 20x image of the RCA obtained from an ApoE-KO mouse with a regular chow diet. This RCA was exposed to uniform blood flow while its corresponding LCA was also exposed to uniform blood flow. h 20x image of the RCA from an ApoE-KO mouse on a HFD. This RCA was exposed to uniform blood flow while its corresponding LCA was also exposed to uniform blood flow. Finally, i 20x image of the RCA from an ApoE-KO mouse on a regular chow diet. This RCA was exposed to uniform blood flow while its corresponding LCA was exposed to disturbed blood flow. j 63x image of (g) zoomed in on the boxed area, demonstrating a continuous GCX layer. k 63x image of (h) zoomed in on the boxed area, showing a continuous GCX layer. l 63x image of (i) in the designated boxed area also, showing a continuous GCX layer