Fig. 7
miR-21-5p enriched AFs-Exos promote vascular calcification in 5/6 NTP mouse model. A Alizarin Red S and Von Kossa staining images and quantification of the percentage of staining positive areas in thoracic aorta sections from sham mice injected with AFsctrl-Exos or 5/6 NTP mice injected with AFsctrl-Exos, AFsctrl M-Exos or AFsmiR21 M-Exos (n = 5 per group). The arrows indicate mineralized nodules. The scale bar represents 200 μm. The ALP activity (B) and calcium content (C) of thoracic aortic tissues normalized to total protein contents. D Runx2, BMP2, BMP4 and Crim1 immunohistochemical staining in thoracic aortic tissues and quantitation of positive staining area are shown. The arrows indicate the positive staining area. Scale bar 200 μm (Black) and 50 μm (Blue). Results are represented by mean ± SD with five replicates for each group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01