Quantification of Atherosclerosis in Mice

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in the world. The underlying cause in most cases is atherosclerosis, which is in part a chronic inflammatory disease. Experimental atherosclerosis studies have elucidated the role of cholesterol and inflammation in the disease process. This has led to successful clinical trials with pharmaceutical agents that reduce clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis. Careful and well-controlled experiments in mouse models of the disease could further elucidate the pathogenesis of the disease, which is not fully understood. Standardized lesion analysis is important to reduce experimental variability and increase reproducibility. Determining lesion size in aortic root, aortic arch, and brachiocephalic artery are common endpoints in experimental atherosclerosis. This protocol provides a technical description for evaluation of atherosclerosis at all these sites in a single mouse. The protocol is particularly useful when material is limited, as is frequently the case when genetically modified animals are being characterized.