Figure 1.

Macrophage phenotypes and genotypes of the calcific aortic valve. Normal aortic valves (n = 10) and calcific aortic valves (n = 10) were isolated from humans and subjected to molecular analysis. qRT-PCR was performed to determine the mRNA levels of (A) five markers of M1 macrophages (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12, iNOS, and MCP-1), (B) three M2 macrophage markers (Arg-1, TGF-β, and Ym1), and (C) miR-214. (D) TWIST1 mRNA and protein expression levels were evaluated using qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses, respectively. The data are presented as the mean ± SD. **P < 0.01 compared with a normal aortic valve.