Fig. 3.
The protective effects of exercise training in Ang II-induced cardiac fibrosis are abolished by POU2F1 overexpression. (A) a pattern diagram of the experimental protocol; (B) representative pulsed wave Doppler images across the mitral flow and tissue Doppler images of the mitral valve ring and measurements of E/E’; (C) picrosirius red staining and quantification of the fibrotic area (scale bars: top = 1 mm, bottom = 100 μm); (D) the protein levels of α-SMA and fibronectin in heart tissues were detected using the Western blot; Quantitative analysis of relative protein expressions of (E) α-SMA and (F) fibronectin in heart tissues; (G) the protein levels of Collagen I in heart tissues were determined using an ELISA. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. n = 6. A two-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's post hoc test was used. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. α-SMA = α-smooth muscle actin; AAV9 = adeno-associated virus serotype-9; Ang II = angiotensin II; ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; GAPDH = glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; GFP = green fluorescent protein; ns = not significant; POU2F1 = POU domain, class 2, transcription factor 1; PWD = pulsed-wave doppler; Run = running; Sed = sedentary; SEM = standard error of mean; TD = tissue doppler; VO2max = maximal oxygen uptake.