Quantitative analysis and characterization of atherosclerotic lesions in the murine aortic sinus

Atherosclerosis is a disease of the large arteries and a major underlying cause of myocardial infarction and stroke. Several different mouse models have been developed to facilitate the study of the molecular and cellular pathophysiology of this disease. In this manuscript we describe specific techniques for the quantification and characterization of atherosclerotic lesions in the murine aortic sinus and ascending aorta. The advantage of this procedure is that it provides an accurate measurement of the cross-sectional area and total volume of the lesion, which can be used to compare atherosclerotic progression across different treatment groups. This is possible through the use of the valve leaflets as an anatomical landmark, together with careful adjustment of the sectioning angle. We also describe basic staining methods that can be used to begin to characterize atherosclerotic progression. These can be further modified to investigate antigens of specific interest to the researcher. The described techniques are generally applicable to a wide variety of existing and newly created dietary and genetically-induced models of atherogenesis.