1. Mast cells associate with neovessels in the media and adventitia of abdominal aortic aneurysms 
Mikko I. Mäyränpää, MD, PhD, Julia A. Trosien, MSc, Vincent Fontaine, MD, PhD, Maggie Folkesson, MSc, Monsur Kazi, MD, PhD, Per Eriksson, PhD, Jesper Swedenborg, MD, PhD, Ulf Hedin, MD, PhD 
Journal of Vascular Surgery 
Volume 50, Issue 2, Pages (August 2009)
DOI: /j.jvs
Copyright © 2009 Society for Vascular Surgery Terms and Conditions

2. Fig 1
Photomicrograph showing double-staining of a normal aorta (A) and an AAA wall without a thrombus (B; NTH AAA) and a thrombus-covered wall (C; TH AAA) for endothelial cells (CD31/CD34, AEC, red) and MCs (tryptase, nickel-DAB, black), as described in the methods. Arrows indicate MCs and arrowheads indicate endothelial cells in neovessels in the adventitia and media of the aneurysm wall. Inset in (A) shows the luminal endothelium and subendothelial MCs with higher magnification. Scale bars 300 μm.
Journal of Vascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jvs )
Copyright © 2009 Society for Vascular Surgery Terms and Conditions

3. Fig 2
Redistribution of mast cells from intima to media during the progression AAA formation is seen in (A, media) and (B, intima). The proportional thickness of an aortic wall occupied by neovessels increases markedly in AAA samples compared with normal control aortas (C). Dots representing individual samples may overlap. Comparisons between controls and AAA samples (NTH or TH) were done with a Mann-Whitney U test. Paired comparisons with NTH and TH aneurysm samples were calculated using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Diamonds and vertical bars represent means and 95% confidence intervals. C, Microscopically normal aortic control specimens, AAA, abdominal aortic aneurysm; NTH, nonthrombotic AAA; TH, thrombus-covered AAA.
Journal of Vascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jvs )
Copyright © 2009 Society for Vascular Surgery Terms and Conditions

4. Fig 3
mRNA expression of genes associated with neovascularization and endothelial cells as measured by quantitative real-time PCR in the control aortas and aneurysm wall segments. The values are arbitrary units after correction for RPLP0 expression. Comparisons between controls and AAA samples (NTH or TH) were done with a Mann-Whitney U test. Paired comparisons with NTH and TH aneurysm samples were calculated using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. NTH, Nonthrombotic AAA; TH, thrombus-covered AAA; AAA, abdominal aortic aneurysm; PDGFD, platelet-derived growth factor D; VE-cadherin, vascular endothelial cadherin; ET-1, endothelin-1; FLT-1, FMS-related tyrosine kinase-1; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.
Journal of Vascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jvs )
Copyright © 2009 Society for Vascular Surgery Terms and Conditions

5. Fig 4
mRNA expression of genes associated with smooth muscle cells and mast cells as measured by quantitative real-time PCR in the control aortas and aneurysm wall segments. The values are arbitrary units after correction for RPLP0 or TBP expression. Comparisons between controls and AAA samples (NTH or TH) were done with a Mann-Whitney U test. Paired comparisons with NTH and TH aneurysm samples were calculated using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. NTH, Nonthrombotic AAA; TH, thrombus-covered AAA; AAA, abdominal aortic aneurysm; RPLP0, ribosomal phosphoprotein large P0; TBP, TATA box-binding protein.
Journal of Vascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jvs )
Copyright © 2009 Society for Vascular Surgery Terms and Conditions

6. Fig 5
Representative confocal microscope image showing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (green) and tryptase (red) double-stained mast cells (MC) in human aneurysmatic aortic media. Also many other cells in the inflammatory infiltrates of aneurysms stained positively for VEGF.
Journal of Vascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jvs )
Copyright © 2009 Society for Vascular Surgery Terms and Conditions