a, Immunostaining for CD68 (green) and CCR2 (red) in myocardial
tissue specimens obtained from heart failure patients at the time of left
ventricular assist device placement (pre-LVAD) and at the time of transplant
(post-LVAD). Patients were stratified into those who displayed persistent LV
systolic dysfunction (n=17) and those who displayed improved LV systolic
function (n=18). Blue: DAPI, 200X magnification. b-c,
Numbers of total (CD68+) (b) and CCR2+
(c) macrophages in pre-LVAD and post-LVAD specimens. Mann
Whitney test (two-sided): CD68+ pre-LVAD, p=0.40 and
CD68+ post-LVAD, p=0.16. d, Percentage of
CCR2+ macrophages in pre-LVAD and post-LVAD. All data points represent
biologically independent specimens and the lines indicate mean values. Asterisks
indicate statistically significant p-values using Matt Whitney test (two-sided).
e-f, Linear regression analysis for the association of the
percentage of CCR2 macrophages and absolute changes in EF (e) and
LV systolic dimension (f) over time. Dashed lines indicate
95% confidence intervals. Asterisks denotes p<0.05. 1-β
denotes statistical power. Each data point (n=22) represents a
biologically independent sample.