Fig. 1

Bilirubin lowers the risk of atherogenesis in ApoE^−/− mice. 22 male ApoE^−/− mice (8 weeks) fed with a western-type diet were received the intraperitoneal injection of bilirubin (bilirubin group, 20 mg/Kg, n = 14) and vehicle (control group, n = 8) once every other day for ten weeks. A The body weight of mice was monitored weekly. B–D After 10 weeks of treatment, peripheral blood plasma was collected and the levels of total bilirubin, glucose, total cholesterol (TCHO), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and total triglyceride (TG) were measured. E A heatmap showing the Pearson correlation coefficients for relationships between the concentrations of total bilirubin (TBIL), glucose (GLU), LDL, HDL, TG, and TCHO in peripheral blood. Dot plots (n = 22) showing the Pearson correlation coefficients for relationships between the concentrations of total bilirubin (TBIL), glucose (GLU), LDL, HDL, TG, and TCHO. Error bars represent mean ± standard deviation (SD). Dots represent individual samples, n (control) = 8, n (bilirubin) = 14. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001. Differences were determined by an unpaired t-test. Correlations were determined by a Pearson test