Figure 1.
Adrenalectomized (ADX; N=19) APOE knockout mice show diminished plasma corticosterone levels as compared to SHAM-operated mice (N=22).
Values represent means+SEM. *** P<0.001.
Figure 2.
Adrenalectomy in APOE knockout mice decreases blood relative monocyte counts (A), increases B-lymphocyte numbers (B), and keeps T-helper cells (C) and cytotoxic T-cells (D) in a more immature state.
Values represent means+SEM of 5 mice per group. *P<0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P<0.001.
Figure 3.
Absolute spleen weights (A) and relative amounts of monocytes, B- and T-lymphocyte populations in spleens (B) of adrenalectomized (ADX) and SHAM-operated APOE knockout mice.
Values represent means+SEM of 5 (FACS data) or 10-15 (spleen weight) mice per group. ** P<0.01.
Figure 4.
Adrenalectomy in APOE knockout mice does not alter the absolute thymus weight, but increases the thymic CD4/CD8 double positive lymphocyte fraction.
Values represent means+SEM of 5 (FACS data) or 10-15 (thymus weight) mice per group. * P<0.05.
Figure 5.
Adrenalectomized APOE knockout mice fail to increase their plasma corticosterone levels upon exposure to a sub-lethal dose of LPS, which is associated with a markedly enhanced plasma TNF-alpha response.
Values represent means+SEM of 5 (SHAM) and 4 (ADX) mice per group. *** P<0.001.
Figure 6.
Adrenalectomy does not alter the size (A) or collagen content (B) of atherosclerotic lesions in APOE knockout mice.
Representative neutral lipid (Oil red O) and collagen (Trichrome: blue) stainings of early (C) and advanced (D) aortic root lesions. Separate dots in figures A and B represent values for each individual mouse, while horizontal lines indicate the respective group averages.
Figure 7.
Plasma postprandial triglyceride response (A), cholesterol levels (B), and lipoprotein profiles (C) in adrenalectomized (ADX) and SHAM-operated APOE knockout mice.
VLDL, very low-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-denisty lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein. Values represent means+SEM or 5 mice per group. * P<0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P<0.001.
Figure 8.
Relative gene expression levels in liver (A) and hepatic VLDL-triglyceride secretion rates (B) of adrenalectomized (ADX) and SHAM-operated APOE knockout mice.
Values represent means+SEM of 5-8 mice per group. * P<0.05, ** P<0.01.