Notch1 and 4 Signaling Responds to an Increasing Vascular Wall Shear Stress in a Rat Model of Arteriovenous Malformations

Figure 4

The intensity of immunofluorescence of caspase3, CD31 (a), Notch1 and 4 receptors (b), their ligands Delta1 and 4 (c), Jagged1 and Notch downstream target Hes1 (d) in the “nidus” vessels was quantified using a confocal microscope over a period of 84-day after AVF formation. Data were expressed as means ± SE of 4 rats at each time point. ^∗𝑃<0.05 paired comparison between pre- (−1 day) and post-AVF formation at different time points. There was a positive correlation between the intensity of immunofluorescence of caspase3 and time (𝑟=0.8866, 𝑃<0.005), Notch4 and time (𝑟=0.7252, 𝑃<0.05), Delta1 and time (𝑟=0.8489, 𝑃<0.008), Delta4 and time (𝑟=0.8874, 𝑃<0.004), and Hes1 and time (𝑟=0.8185, 𝑃<0.02) over a period of 84 days after AVF formation.

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