(A) Heart weight body weight (HW/BW) ratio of control (Ct), TAC
(transverse aortic constriction) and TAC mice treated with HKL, mean ±
SE, n = 8-10 mice. (B) Expression levels of collagen-1,
β-MHC and ANF mRNA in different groups of mice, mean
± SE, n = 8-10 mice, *P<0.01 compared to TAC
alone. (C)Top panel, Sections of hearts stained
with Masson’s trichrome to detect fibrosis (blue); scale
bars, 20 μm; bottom panel, heart sections stained with
wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) to demarcate cell boundaries, scale bars, 10
μm. (D and E) Quantification of cardiac fibrosis and myocyte
cross-sectional area in different groups of mice. Mean ± SE, n = 5 mice.
For the panels A, B, D and E, ANOVA was applied to calculate the
P value. (F) Heart lysate of different groups
of mice was subjected to immunoblotting using indicated antibodies. Results of
two mice in each group are shown.