Aortic composition in HFD rats.

Aortas from rats fed a standard diet (3.5% fat) or a high fat diet (HFD, 33.5% fat) were analyzed. Representative pictures of slides stained for collagen and elastin are presented (magnification 40X) (A). mRNA expression of collagen type I, fibronectin, TGF-β, CTGF in aorta from controls and HFD rats (B). Protein expression of collagen type I, elastin, MMP-2, TIMP-2, TGF-β and CTGF in aorta from controls and HFD rats (C). All conditions were performed at least by triplicate. Scale bar 50 µm. Histogram bars represent the mean ± SEM of 6–7 animals, in arbitrary units normalized to HPRT and β-actin for cDNA and protein respectively. *p<0.05; ***p<0.001 vs. control group.