Quantitative assay for mouse atherosclerosis in the aortic root.

The mouse has become the preferred species for genetic manipulation aimed at creating and studying models for human disease. Although mice are highly resistant to atherosclerosis, dietary induction and, more frequently, gene knockout and transgenic mice have been widely used to study factors that alter the susceptibility to atherosclerosis. Although there are several ways to assess atherosclerosis in mice, measurement of the aortic root lesion area is a commonly used, medium-throughput method that allows for histological examination of the lesions. Here, we provide the detailed methods for the quantitative analysis of mouse aortic root lesion area.