Fig. 5

Alleviation of calcific lesion formation in a mouse FCAVD model, Il1rn^-/- mice by treatment with the ATX inhibitor. A–F Il1rn^-/- mice were orally administrated with BBT-877 (30 mg/kg/day) or vehicle for 8 weeks. A, B LPA production (A) and osteogenesis-related cytokines (B) in mouse serum were measured using ELISA. C, D Calcific lesion formation was determined using molecular imaging after injection of a fluorescence dye for calcification (Osteosense 680EX). Representative images of mice from each group (C) and quantification of fluorescence intensity (D) in all of the mice in each group. E, F Paraffin-embedded serial cross sections of the aortic valves from mice stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Masson’s trichrome staining (red arrow indicates stained positive area in the aortic valve). Antibodies against ATX and α-SMA were used for IHC analyses. Data are presented as the mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001 versus the indicated group. P values were obtained using a two-tailed t-test. WT (n = 3); Il1rn^-/- (n = 5); Il1rn^-/-+BBT-877 (n = 5)