Fig. 6

Attenuation of fibrosis and calcification by treatment with the ATX inhibitor in a rabbit model of FCAVD. A Representative 2D echocardiographic images of the aortic valve cusps in the rabbits at 12 weeks after BBT-877 oral administration. B Standard continuity equation of the aortic valve area (AVA). C AVA, transaortic maximal velocity (Vmax) and mean pressure gradient (mean PG) obtained by continuous-wave Doppler analysis through echocardiographic assessment. D–F Paraffin-embedded serial cross sections of the aortic valves from rabbits stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), alizarin red, and analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Masson’s trichrome staining. Antibodies against ATX, α-SMA, and F4/80 were used for IHC analyses. Normal diet (n = 3); Chol+VitD, (cholesterol and vitamin D2, disease group, n = 4); Chol+VitD+BBT, (cholesterol and vitamin D2 with BBT-877, BBT-877 group, n = 4). Data are presented as the mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 versus the vehicle control. P values were obtained using a two-tailed t-test