Fig. 1

FSH promotes atherosclerotic plaque formation and EndMT in vivo. Apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE^−/−) mice were fed an atherogenic diet for 12 weeks and treated as indicated. Whole aortas (A) and aortic roots (B) underwent Oil Red O staining, and atherosclerotic lesions were evaluated by calculating the surface area of Oil Red O–positive lesions in en face preparations. Statistical analysis was executed using one-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparisons test, with n = 6–10; **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05. Brachiocephalic artery trunk immunofluorescence staining was conducted to examine EndMT across treatment groups, using VE-Cadherin (VE-Cad) in red, vimentin in green, and DAPI in blue; white arrows indicate sites of EndMT occurrence (C). Scale bars: 5 mm (A), 500 μm (B), and 25 μm (C)