TAC elicits an early inflammatory response in wild-type (C57BL/6) male mice.

A) Immunohistochemical staining of inflammatory cells and adhesion molecules in LV sections from wild-type male mice subjected to sham or TAC surgery and sacrificed at different time points (D = days). Positive staining is in red-brown (mag. 40×; Bar = 70 µm T lymphocytes are indicated by CD90.2 and CD8; CD19 is a B lymphocyte marker. VCAM is an endothelial inflammatory marker and myeloperoxidase (MPO) an enzyme stored and released by neutrophils and macrophages. B) and C) Quantification of the accumulation of macrophage (CD68) and T lymphocyte (CD90.2), as measured by area of positive staining in and around the coronary arteries, at different time points following sham (open circles) and TAC (closed circles) surgery. Values are presented as mean ± sem. The images are representative of those obtained in the following numbers. For macrophages: TAC day one, n = 5; TAC day three, n = 7; TAC day seven, n = 9; sham day one, n = 3; sham day three, n = 4; sham day seven, n = 5. For lymphocytes: TAC day one, n = 7; TAC day three, n = 6; TAC day seven, n = 6; sham day one, n = 4; sham day three; n = 5; sham day seven, n = 5. *P<0.05 versus same time point in sham.