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. 2018 Jun 21;9:333. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00333

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Development of cardiac fibrosis in kl/kl mice but not in Hyp mice. (A) Representative images of murine myocardial sections stained for fibrillar collagens by picrosirius red demonstrate increased accumulation of fibrillar collagens in kl/kl mice but not in Hyp mice (magnification, 20×; scale bar, 50 µm). (B) The mRNA levels of Col1 are higher in heart tissue of kl/kl mice and unchanged in Hyp animals. (C) Likewise, kl/kl mice show an enhanced Mmp2 mRNA expression. (D) The mRNA expression of Tgfb1 is significantly different between both mouse lines whereby it is upregulated in kl/kl animals. The protein expression of (E) Col1, (F) Mmp2, and (G) Tgf-β1 in heart tissue lysates is markedly enhanced in kl/kl mice but not in Hyp mice. (H) ERK1/2 is only activated in kl/kl mice demonstrated by increased phosphorylated protein levels in immunoblot analysis followed by (I) densitometric quantification. (J) The levels of Ctgf protein are increased in kl/kl mice but not in Hyp mice. Values are presented as mean ± SEM; numbers in each bar graph represent the n-values used for the respective measurement; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.