Melatonin Ameliorates the Progression of Atherosclerosis via Mitophagy Activation and NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibition

Figure 2

Melatonin inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation within atherosclerotic lesions. (a) The NLRP3 expression (the green color) and colocation with macrophage marker CD68 (the red color) in the aortic artery of melatonin treated mice as compared with AS mice (). (b) The NLRP3 and caspase-1 protein expression levels in atherosclerotic lesions as compared with the AS mice measured by Western blot (, ). versus the Con group; versus the AS group. (c) The IL-1β level measured by the ELISA assay within atherosclerotic lesions of melatonin treated AS mice in comparison with the AS group (, 16.89 ± 0.57 versus 26.77 ± 0.76 pg/mg, ). versus the Con group; versus the AS group.

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