Figure 3.

Cholesterol-Lowering Gene Transfer Significantly Reduces Interstitial Fibrosis and Perivascular Fibrosis after TAC

(A and B) Bar graphs illustrating the degree of interstitial fibrosis (A) and the degree of perivascular fibrosis (B) in control sham (n = 15), AAV8-LDLr sham (n = 22), control TAC (n = 23), and AAV8-LDLr TAC (n = 23) mice 8 weeks after operation. (C) Representative photomicrographs showing Sirius-red-stained interstitial collagen viewed under polarized light. Scale bars, 50 μm. (D–G) Bar graphs illustrating the 12.5-kDa isoform of TGF-β1 (D), Smad1 (E), p-Smad1/5 (F), and Smad4 (G) myocardial protein levels quantified by western blot in the myocardium of control sham (n = 10), AAV8-LDLr sham (n = 10), control TAC (n = 9), and AAV8-LDLr TAC (n = 10) mice 8 weeks after operation. All protein levels were normalized to the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein level. (H) Representative images of western blots are shown. Error bars represent SEM.