Figure 2

Structural Analysis of the aorta. High resolution ultrasound (HRUS) was used to measure various aortic parameters. A. shows quantification of the cross-sectional area for the thoracic region of the aorta in 3–5 animals from each animal group by HRUS with representative captured images from the analysis just above. Note that the AAV/hSMAD3-HCD animals had a larger cross sectional area than the AAV/Neo-HCD animals. B. shows quantification of the wall thickness of the aorta (thoracic region). Note that the AAV/hSMAD3-HCD animals have a thinner wall thickness than the AAV/Neo-HCD animals. C. shows quantification of blood flow velocities in the lumenal center of the abdominal region of the aorta in 3–5 animals from each group with representative captured images from the analysis just above. Note that the AAV/hSMAD3-HCD animals have a much lower blood velocity than the AAV/Neo-HCD animals (or hCGRP-treated).