Recombinant mouse chemerin protein

All specific-pathogen-free (SPF) clean-grade mice were purchased from Changzhou Cavens Lab Animal Co. (Changzhou, China) and raised at the laboratory animal research centre of Jiangsu University. six- to eight-week-old male C57BL/6 J mice were set as the wild-type (WT) group (n = 10, WT) and fed on regular food until the end of the experiment, and 6- to 8-week-old male ApoE−/− mice were set as the experimental groups. WT mice were fed a classic high-fat diet for 16 weeks and randomly divided into 3 groups: the control group (n = 6, control), chemerin protein group (n = 8, chemerin), and inhibitor group (n = 8, inhibitor). Drugs were given according to mouse body weight starting at the 8th week (recombinant mouse chemerin protein, R&D California USA, catalogue #: aa 17–156, 50 ng/(kg × d) i.p. for 4 weeks or chemerin together with the specific p38 MAPK-specific inhibitor SB 203580 (SB 203580, Selleck, Texas, USA, catalogue #: S1076, 10 mg/(kg × d) i.p. for 4 weeks) Mouse body weights were measured every two weeks after the drug interventions.