Figure 9. Increased expression of inflammatory markers in AS valves.

A) Hematoxylin and eosin (upper panels); TNF-α; and IL1-β IHC staining were performed on healthy heart valves derived from the Department of Forensic Institute, University of Debrecen (left column; N=3) and on AS valves with calcification (right column, N=9). Scale bars (200 μm at 12.5x magnification and 50μm at 50x magnification) and pixel intensity of IHC staining were shown. Representative staining was shown from at least three independent experiments. B) Western blots (TNF-α and IL1-β) from AS tissues were shown. Protein expressions were normalized to GAPDH. Results were analyzed by One Way ANOVA, Bonferroni’s Multiple Comparison Test (Figure 8B) and were shown as mean values ± SEM of at least three independent experiments. **P < 0.001; ***P < 0.0001.