Hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) staining and FITC-dextran permeability in aortic plaques from high-cholesterol-fed rabbits.

(A) H&E staining indicated the red blood cells within the plaque. (Bars = 50 μm). (B) The integrity of intraplaque neovessel endothelial barrier was evaluated by measuring FITC-dextran permeability across the endothelium. Accumulation of FITC fluorescence in the plaque was detected using a microplate reader. Data are presented as the mean±SEM from three independent experiments. *p<0.05 vs. week 4; #p<0.05 vs. week 6; ^p<0.05 vs. week 8; &p<0.05 vs. week 10.