Fig. 2

Effect of colonization with microbiota from CAD patients and healthy control donors on cholesterol imbalance and vascular stiffness in germ-free mice. a Serum TC, LDL-C and HDL-C level. b Body weight curve of Con and CAD groups during 8-week. c CAD mice show increased arterial stiffness. The data was collected from pulse wave velocity assay in left common carotid artery and analyzed using commercial software. d Mouse aorta sections were collected. Masson’s trichrome staining was performed to determine the positive area of collagen. e Analysis of dihydroethidium (DHE) derived fluorescence and quantification show enhanced ROS generation in aorta of CAD mice (n = 7) compared to Con mice (n = 6). Mean ± SEM are plotted, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, Mann–Whitney U test. Con mice, n = 8-11; CAD mice, n = 9-12. TC, total cholesterol; LDL-C, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol; HDL-C, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol; PWV, pulse wave velocity; ROS, reactive oxygen species; CAD, colonization with microbiota from coronary artery disease patients; Con, colonization with microbiota from healthy donors