Figure 2.

Fibrosis in the male and female heart across the life course. Collagen accumulation was assessed by picro-sirius red in LV in mice from 4 distinct age groups: juvenile (Juv; 4 weeks), adult (4-6 months), middle-aged (12 months), and aged (18 months) mice of both sexes. Quantification of fibrosis demonstrates that fibrotic content increases earlier in life for males, while females show relatively delayed fibrosis later in life. (A) Representative images; (B) quantification of fibrosis content in male and female samples. In male LV, fibrotic content was significantly higher in adult, while in female, fibrosis was not significantly elevated until middle age. n = 3/group; (C) expression of pro- and anti-fibrosis genes occurs in a sex-dependent manner with aging. Blue: male; pink/red: female.