Astaxanthin Attenuates Hypertensive Vascular Remodeling by Protecting Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Oxidative Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Figure 2

Astaxanthin (ATX) reduces blood pressure and improves aortic systolic function as well as vascular remodeling in SHRs. (a) Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in each group. (b) The levels of renin, Ang II, and ALD in the serum of each group. (c) Phenylephrine-induced and Ca²⁺-induced vasoconstrictions of aortic rings with or without endothelium in each group. (d) Representative images of aortic sections in each group stained by H&E staining and quantitative analyses of the wall thickness (WT), wall cross-sectional area (WCSA), wall/lumen ratio, and lumen diameter (LD) of each group. . (e) Representative images of aortic sections in each group stained by Masson’s trichrome staining and quantitative analysis of the area ratio of fibrosis in each group. . (f) Representative images of aorta sections in each group stained by Sirius-red staining and quantitative analyses of the area ratio of collagen I and collagen III in each group. . (g) Representative images of aortic sections in each group stained for PCNA (green), α-SMA (red), and DAPI (blue) and quantitative analysis of the percentage of PCNA-positive VSMCs. . (h) Representative images of aortic sections in each group stained for Ki67 (green), α-SMA (red), and DAPI (blue) and quantitative analysis of the percentage of Ki67-positive VSMCs. . Values are represented as from 8 rats in each group. vs. corresponding WKYs; ^# vs. corresponding SHRs.

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