1. Fig. 9. SMC-specific Col15a1 knockout resulted in downregulation of immune cell processes that impact atherosclerotic plaque formation. RNA-seq analysis of BCA, aortic arch, and carotid artery specimens from 18-wk Western diet-fed SMC YFP+/+ Col15a1Δ/Δ, Apoe−/− (n = 3) compared with SMC YFP+/+ Col15a1wt/wt, Apoe−/− (n = 3) mice. A: Ingenuity Pathway Analysis showed dysregulation of inflammatory pathways. The red line marks the cut off for significantly enriched (adjusted P ≤ 0.05) pathways. Enrichment is shown as –log10 of the adjusted P value. B: Upstream Regulator Analysis was performed on the top ~3,000 differentially expressed genes containing a log fold change of ±0.30 from the RNA-seq to identify master regulators that are either inhibited or activated as a consequence of SMC Col15a1 knockout.
DOI: ( /ajpheart )