Figure 5.
Effects of the absence of SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine) and the imposition of TAC (transverse aortic constriction) on myocardial diastolic stiffness. WT = wild-type littermate mice C57Bl6/SV129, SPARC Null = mouse created using targeted gene deletion to prevent expression of SPARC. * = p < 0.05 vs. WT, # = p < 0.05 vs. SPARC Null, & = p < 0.05 vs. WT TAC.
Panel A: Examples of the passive diastolic myocardial stress vs. strain curves for the four groups of animals studied: WT control, WT TAC, SPARC Null control, SPARC Null TAC.
Panel B: Mean ± SEM values of the passive stiffness constant, β, for the four groups of animals studied.