Fig. 5. P38 MAPK activation mediates CTRP3 deficiency-aggravated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis.

a Ejection fraction (EF)% after 4 weeks of TAC in the indicated groups (n = 5–6 mice per group). b The HW/BW ratio in animals from indicated groups after 4 weeks of TAC (n = 5–6 mice per group). c Representative images of the heart sections stained with HE, WGA, and Masson stain (n = 5 mice per group). d The mean cross-sectional area of cardiomyocytes from the indicated groups (n ≥ 100 cells per group). e The LV collagen volume in different groups (n ≥ 40 fields per group). f Real-time PCR analysis of the expression of genes encoding the hypertrophic markers β-MHC, ANP, and BNP, and the fibrotic markers TGF-β1, collagen-I, and collagen-III in each group (n = 5 mice per group). g Representative western blot (top) and quantification (bottom) of the CREB activity in the hearts of mice from indicated groups (n = 5 mice per group). The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05 between the two indicated groups; ns, not significant. In the bar graphs, the data are presented as the mean ± SEM