Figure 5.

Associations between the ALDH2*2 polymorphism (rs671) and oxidative stress and atrial structural remodeling in human AF tissues. (A) Western blot and quantification relative to GAPDH of 4-HNE and ALDH2 expression in the homogenates of atria from AF patients with the indicated rs671 genotypes. Each value represents the mean ± SE of at least three independent experiments. Representative confocal images show 4-HNE (B), reactive oxygen species (ROS) (B), myosin heavy chain (MHC) (C) and collagen I (D) production in the atria of eight AF patients (3 wild-type (WT), 5 rs671 with 3 ALDH2*1*2 and 2 ALDH2*2*2). Relative fluorescence density was quantified (right). At least 10 random fields were chosen with scanning and averaging. N, the number of fields observed in each quantitative measurement; data are expressed as mean ± SE. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.