Fig. 2

Improvements in VND-induced rat vascular calcification and reduction in inflammation by oral propionate administration. a A flow diagram of the oral propionate administration experiment. For 6 consecutive weeks, rats in the control and VDN groups were provided free access to sodium chloride solution (200 mM), while rats from the VDN + SP group freely consumed sodium propionate solution (200 mM). b Macroscopic observation of arterial vascular calcification based on alizarin red staining. c Quantitative evaluation of calcium content in whole aortas. d Observation of vascular calcification of the ascending aorta through alizarin red staining of tissue sections (original magnification ×40). e Relative quantification of calcium content for the vessel sections of the ascending aorta. f–h Concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in plasma, respectively. AO: pure alcohol and peanut oil; VDN: vitamin D3 and nicotine; SP: sodium propionate. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA (Tukey post hoc test). ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001