FIGURE 3.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinases and measures of diastolic dysfunction. Relative mRNA expression of MMP2 (a) and MMP9 (b) in left ventricular tissues and echocardiographic measures, e’ (c) and e’/a’ (d) of control, CIA, and anti‐TNF‐α rats. Group differences are determined by two‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with group and sex as the main effects, followed by Tukey's post hoc tests. mRNA expression data expressed in arbitrary units normalized for the expression of the endogenous reference gene, HPRT1. Data are presented as means ± SEM; *p < 0.05 versus control; **p < 0.01 versus control; ***p < 0.001 versus control; ****p < 0.0001 versus control; ^†††† p < 0.0001 versus anti‐TNF‐α