Figure 3.

Genetic ablation of Bax and Bak improves cardiac function and survival of cardiac-specific Mcl-1 deletion. (A) Survival of Ckmm-TKO mice and littermate control mice. (**) P < 0.01 by log-rank test when compared with Mcl-1^flox/flox Ckmm-Cre mice. (B) Contractility of Mcl-1^wt/wt, Mcl-1^flox/flox, Bax^flox/wt Bak^+/− Ckmm-Cre, Ckmm-DKO, and Ckmm-TKO hearts. The data are presented as percent of baseline (before tamoxifen treatment). (*) P < 0.05 versus littermate control mice. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean. (C) H&E-stained cross-sections of the heart indicate dilated cardiomyopathy and a loss of myofibrils, and Masson's trichrome staining indicates fibrosis in the Mcl-1^flox/flox Bax^flox/wt Bak^+/− Ckmm-Cre heart. Magnifications are indicated for each panel. All hearts were harvested at P84.