Fig. 8

The contribution of glucose and ECs in pioglitazone-mediated beneficial effect on improvement of arterial stiffness. a The correlation between PWV and plasma glucose level in mice (n = 5, 3, and 6 for control, ob/ob, and ob/ob + Piog groups respectively). Scatter plot illustrating the Spearman’s correlation of normalized reads per mouse between PWV and plasma glucose level. b Expression of genes for endothelial markers in the aorta (n = 7, 5, and 6 for control, ob/ob, and ob/ob + Piog groups respectively). **P < 0.01. c The correlation between PWV and genes of endothelial markers in the thoracic aorta (n = 5, 3, and 6 for control, ob/ob, and ob/ob + Piog groups respectively). Scatter plot illustrating the Spearman’s correlation of normalized reads per mouse between PWV and VCAM (Vcam), P-selectin (Selp), vWF (Vwf), and eNOS (Nos3). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients r and P value are provided in each plot. d Immunofluorescence staining for NF-κB p65 (red) and DAPI (blue) in the thoracic aorta. Each scale bar is 25 μm. Magnification of the square in upper panels is shown in lower panels. The while arrow indicates the location of positive nuclear staining for NF-κB. e Quantification of nuclear NF-κB p65 in the endothelial layer of thoracic aorta. ***P < 0.001