Estrogen increases apoptosis in the arterial wall in a murine atherosclerosis model  Emre Seli, M.D., Ozlem Guzeloglu-Kayisli, Ph.D., Umit A. Kayisli, Ph.D., Gulnur Kizilay, Ph.D., Aydin Arici, M.D.  Fertility and Sterility  Volume 88, Issue 4, Pages 1190-1196 (October 2007) DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.01.132 Copyright © 2007 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Uterine weight of LDL-R−/− ovariectomized female mice fed a diet containing 1.25% cholesterol and treated with placebo or E2. Bars represent mean ± SEM. Ovariectomy resulted in a significant reduction in uterine weight. Mice treated with E2 had significantly larger uterine weight (P<.001) confirming the bioavailability of the pellet content. Seli. Estrogen increases apoptosis in the arterial wall. Fertil Steril 2007. Fertility and Sterility 2007 88, 1190-1196DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.01.132) Copyright © 2007 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 2 Lipid deposition in the aortic wall of LDL-R−/− ovariectomized female mice fed a diet containing 1.25% cholesterol and treated with placebo or E2. Bars represent mean ± SEM. High cholesterol diet was associated with an increase in lipid deposition in both groups. Mice treated with E2 showed significantly less lipid deposition compared to placebo-treated mice (P<.05). Seli. Estrogen increases apoptosis in the arterial wall. Fertil Steril 2007. Fertility and Sterility 2007 88, 1190-1196DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.01.132) Copyright © 2007 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 3 TUNEL staining of aortic cross-sections from LDL-R−/− ovariectomized female mice fed a diet containing 1.25% cholesterol. TUNEL-positive cells are stained red. (A) 5 weeks of E2 treatment (×100 magnification); Insert ×400 magnification. (B) 5 weeks of placebo treatment (×100 magnification). (C) TUNEL index in aortic sections of mice treated with placebo or E2 during a period of 8 weeks. Bars represent mean ± SEM. The E2 treatment resulted in an increased apoptotic activity that became significant after 3 weeks (P<.05). Seli. Estrogen increases apoptosis in the arterial wall. Fertil Steril 2007. Fertility and Sterility 2007 88, 1190-1196DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.01.132) Copyright © 2007 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions

Figure 4 Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) staining of aortic cross-sections from LDL-R−/− ovariectomized female mice fed a diet containing 1.25% cholesterol. (A) 5 weeks of E2 treatment (×100 magnification). (B) 5 weeks of placebo treatment (×100 magnification). (C) PCNA index in aortic sections of mice treated with placebo or E2 during a period of 8 weeks. Bars represent mean ± SEM. The E2 treatment did not affect PCNA immunoreactivity (P=not significant). Seli. Estrogen increases apoptosis in the arterial wall. Fertil Steril 2007. Fertility and Sterility 2007 88, 1190-1196DOI: (10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.01.132) Copyright © 2007 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Terms and Conditions