Fig 1. Time-course of representative microphotographs of H&E staining, Azan staining for fibrotic lesions, and immunohistochemistry for galectin-3 and Iba1 in heart tissues at 0, 12, 24, 48, 96 hours, 7 and 10 days after intraperitoneal inoculation of EMCV.

For both H&E and Azan staining, notable changes was not observed until 48 hours after EMCV inoculation. Infiltration of inflammatory cells and fibrosis was observed 96 hours after inoculation. Inflammation and fibrosis peaked at 7 days after inoculation. At 0, 12 and 24 hours, there were no galectin-3 and Iba1-positive cell in heart tissues. At 48 hours after EMCV inoculation, interstitial infiltration of a few cells was detected by both galectin-3 and Iba1 immunohistochemistry, and this infiltration was greater at 96 hours. It peaked on day 7 and was observed until day 10. Scale bar = 100 μm.