Fig. 8

Alleviation of VDN-induced vascular calcification in rats by Akkermansia. a Flow diagram of the Akkermansia transplantation experiment. Rats from the VDN group were orally administered PBS solution, rats from the VDN + hk-AKK group were supplied with heat-killed Akkermansia via gavage, rats from the VDN + AKK group were intragastrically provided with active Akkermansia, and the treatment lasted for 8 consecutive days. b Macroscopic observation of aortic vascular calcification by alizarin red staining. c Quantitative evaluation of calcium content in macroscopic blood vessels. d Observation of ascending aorta vascular calcification based on alizarin red staining of tissue sections (original magnification ×40). e Calcium content in the vessel sections of the ascending aorta determined through relative quantification. f–h Plasma concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, respectively. hk-AKK: heat-killed Akkermansia; AKK: Akkermansia. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA (Tukey post hoc test). NS for P > 0.05, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001