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. 2017 Feb 23;32(9):1493–1503. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfw454

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1

Calcitriol ameliorates LVH in uremic rats. (A) The heart weight:body weight ratio and (B) the heart weight:tibia length ratio of sham-operated and 5/6 Nx rats were determined 6 and 12 weeks after surgery. Compared with sham, 5/6Nx significantly increases relative heart weight. Treatment of uremic rats with calcitriol for 4 and 10 weeks reduces this effect in a dose-dependent manner. (C) Cardiac mid-chamber sections of sham and 5/6Nx rats were stained with WGA (red; original magnification ×63; scale bar 50 µm). (D) Cardiac myocyte cross-sectional area of vehicle-treated 5/6Nx rats is significantly larger when compared with sham. In uremic rats, the increase in cardiac myocyte area is reduced after 4 and 10 weeks of calcitriol treatment in a dose-dependent manner when compared with vehicle-treated 5/6Nx rats (N = 100 cells/section). Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of expression levels of (E) βMHC and (F) BNP demonstrate a significant increase in both pro-hypertrophic genes in 5/6Nx rats compared with sham, indicating pathologic remodeling in myocardial tissue. Calcitriol treatment reduces expression levels of both markers in a time- and dose-dependent manner. N = 4–13 animals in each group; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001 versus sham; †P < 0.05, ††P < 0.01, †††P < 0.001 versus vehicle-treated 5/6Nx.