Fig. 6

In vivo autophagy stimulation and anti-atherosclerosis effects of trehalose-releasing nanogels. (A) The en face oil red O (ORO)-stained images of aortas in ApoE^−/− mice after one month of treatments with free trehalose and TNG compared to the control and (B) quantitative analysis of the lesion area. (C) ORO-stained images of aortic root sections in ApoE^−/− mice after one month of treatments with free trehalose and TNG compared to the control and (D) quantitative analysis of the atherosclerotic plaque area. (E, G) CLSM images and (F, H) quantitative analysis of p62 (green fluorescence) and LC3 (red fluorescence) expressions in atherosclerotic plaques of the aortic root sections in ApoE^−/− mice after one month of treatments with free trehalose and TNG compared to the control, scale bars: 500 and 100 μm, respectively. Data are presented as mean ± SD, (A–D) n = 5, (E–H) n = 3, ns: no significance, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001