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. 2017 Feb 13;8:45. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00045

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Icariin inhibits the expansion of adipose tissue and lipid droplet accumulation in retrobulbar fat in a mouse model of Graves' orbitopathy (GO). (A) Hematoxylin and eosin staining showing adipose tissue widely separating the orbital muscle fiber bundles in the GO group and the suppression of adipogenesis by icariin. Scale bar: 20 μm. (B) Oil Red O staining of orbital tissue sections showing icariin suppression of lipid droplet accumulation in TSHR induced GO mice. Scale bar: 20 μm. (C) Western blot analysis of the expression of the adipose differentiation marker PPARγ with β-actin as the loading control. (D) The relative PPARγ expression was quantified by densitometric scanning and graphed. Data indicate the mean ± SD (n = 5). *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001 vs. Normal control. ###P < 0.001 vs. GO group. (E) The expression of autophagy related proteins and the activation of the AMPK/mTOR pathway were analyzed by western blotting of retrobulbar adipose tissue lysates. (F–J) Densitometric quantification of western blot data in (E). Data represent the mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 vs. Normal control. ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001 vs. GO group. (n = 5).