Fig 2: Immunohistochemical analysis of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CXADR) expression and localization in human carotid plaques. A, Sections of a carotid artery containing a plaque (upper and lower left), a normal artery (upper right), and the appendix (lower right) were stained with antibodies against CXADR (upper panels), or the combination of CXADR and CD68 (lower panels). B, C, Pearson correlation analysis showing the association between CXADR and CD68 (B) and between CXADR and CD36 (C) in human carotid plaques at messenger RNA (left) and protein (right) levels. Abbreviation: AU, arbitrary units.

Fig 3: Induction of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CXADR) during monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation. A, Western blot analysis showing CXADR protein levels in THP-1 cells cultured as monocytes (Mo), differentiated into macrophages (M0), and further polarized into M1 or M2 macrophages. Abbreviation: MW, molecular weight. B, Immunofluorescence staining for CXADR (green) in THP-1 cells differentiated into M0, M1, or M2 macrophages. Cell nuclei were counterstained with DAPI (blue). Images were obtained with a Zeiss LSM700 confocal microscope and processed with NIS-Elements software (version 4.0). (https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/products/software/nis-elements). (Scale bar represents 10 µm.)

Fig 4: Up-regulation of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CXADR) in aortic plaques in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. Representative immunofluorescent images showing staining of CXADR (red) in aortic walls from 10-week-old (A) or 50-week-old (B) Ldr-/-Apob100/100 mice. Endothelial cells and macrophages were stained with antibodies against CD31 (green) and CD68 (white), respectively. Cell nuclei were labeled with DAPI (blue). A plaque lesion in the aortic wall of a 50-week-old mouse is enclosed in a dashed oval (right-hand images). Images were obtained with a digital camera and processed with NIS-Elements software (version 4.0; https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/products/software/nis-elements). Scale bars represent 60 µm (×10 magnification images) and 30 µm (×20 magnification images).

Fig 5: Proteomic analysis of the levels of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CXADR) and other virus receptors in human carotid plaques. A–D, Pearson correlation between CXADR and junction adhesion molecule A (JAM-A) (A), inflammatory cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) (B), neuropilin 2 (NRP2) (C), and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) (D) protein levels in human plaques. Abbreviation: AU, arbitrary units.