Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: IL-18 inhibition enlarges lesions, necrotic cores and thickens fibrous caps in Jak2 V617F clonal hematopoiesis-driven atherosclerosis

doi: 10.1101/2025.06.03.657754

Figure Lengend Snippet: A. UMAP of integrated single-cell RNA-sequencing of CD45+ plaque cells isolated from aortic arches of control mice, Jak2 VF mice, and Jak2 VF mice with IL-18 antibodies. B. Percentage of lesional CD45 + cells within each cluster. C. Violin plots depicting gene expression levels of efferocytosis markers Axl , Mertk , and Cd36 in control, Jak2 VF , and Jak2 VF mice treated with IL-18 antibody, derived from Sc-RNA-seq data. D. Representative aortic images with DAPI, MAC2, and AXL staining. DAPI is shown in blue, MAC2 is shown in green, and AXL is shown in magenta. AXL positive macrophages (white spots) are highlighted by yellow arrows in the lesions. E. Quantification of lesional AXL positive macrophages (n=15/group) after 10 weeks of WTD feeding. F. Violin plots depicting gene expression levels of MHC II genes in Jak2 VF , and Jak2 VF mice treated with IL-18 antibody, derived from Sc-RNA-seq data. Scale bar, 100 μm. Statistical analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test with Bonferroni correction in C. For E statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. Statistical differences are indicated on the graphs, with p-values greater than 0.05 omitted. Statistically significant differences by treatment and genotype factors are presented below the graphs.

Article Snippet: Samples were immune stained with TUNEL reagent (Roche), and anti-Mac2 antibodies (Cedarlane).

Techniques: RNA Sequencing, Isolation, Control, Gene Expression, Derivative Assay, Staining, Comparison