Figure 2.

Gene knockdown of Prrx2 inhibits cardiac fibrosis and improves heart functions in mice after MI. Male Apoe^−/− mice were injected with adenovirus expressing negative control (NC) shRNA or Prrx2 shRNA for 3 d prior to MI surgery. At the 30th post‐operative day, mice were subjected to assess cardiac functions by echocardiography before sacrificed and hearts were isolated to measure infraction sizes by HE staining and collagens by Masson staining. A, The survival curve of mice within 30 d after MI surgery. B, Representative images of HE staining, Masson staining and cardiac functions in hearts were shown. C‐F, Cardiac functions were quantified by calculating EF in C, FS in D, measuring LVDd in E and LVDs in F. G, Quantitative analysis of infarct size was performed. H, Quantitative analysis of cardiac fibrosis was conducted. N is 10‐15 in each group. *P < .05 vs NC plus Sham. ^# P < .05 vs NC plus MI