Evaluation of Plaque Stability of Advanced Atherosclerotic Lesions in Apo E-Deficient Mice after Treatment with the Oral Factor Xa Inhibitor Rivaroxaban
Figure 4
Representative lesion morphology. Representative brachiocephalic artery from a mouse after chronic administration of rivaroxaban (5 mg/kg/day). Movat’s pentachrome staining shows features of an advanced but rather stable atherosclerotic lesion with a small necrotic cores and a thick protective fibrous cap (a). In contrast, a lesion from a mouse from the low-concentration group (1 mg/kg/day) shows a less stable lesion with a large necrotic core, partially eroding into the media (arrow, (b)). (c) shows a representative example of a control mouse, where the fibrous cap (arrow), separating the necrotic core from the lumen, is reduced to few cell layers. Lateral xanthomas (arrow), defined as the presence of aggregates of macrophage-derived foam cells, situated on the lateral margins of the plaques were observed significantly more frequently in control mice (d). Bar indicates 100 μm. Data are presented as mean ± SEM.
