Aorta Atherosclerosis Lesion Analysis in Hyperlipidemic Mice

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of large and medium-sized arteries. Apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice are used as experimental models to study human atherosclerosis. ApoE-/- mice are constitutively hyperlipidemic and develop intima plaques that resemble human plaques. Various issues including experimental design for lesion analysis, dietary conditions, isolation of the aorta, staining methods, morphometry, group size, age, the location within the arterial tree, and statistical analyses are important parameters that need to be addressed to obtain robust data. Here, we provide detailed methods to quantify aorta atherosclerosis.