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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Pediatr Res. 2021 Nov 26;92(3):721–728. doi: 10.1038/s41390-021-01843-6

Fig. 5. EndMT-regulating transcription factors (SLUG/SNAIL) in immature versus mature hearts.

Fig. 5

Immature (a) and mature hearts (b) were perfused in a non-working Langendorff set-up and exposed to static uniaxial stretch with 10× their heart weight for 3 h. Heart tissue was stained for the endothelial marker PECAM1 (green), SLUG/SNAIL (red), and DAPI (blue). Immature hearts showed supporting evidence by staining for the transcription factors SLUG/SNAIL (red), which indicated active EndMT by double-staining of nuclei with DAPI in blue. c Summary of the results are shown in this graph. Ratio of double-stained (SLUG/SNAIL/alpha-SMA) endothelial cells/total endothelial cell count in controls and stretched for immature and mature hearts. There were no significant differences between the groups in the mature rat hearts. Uniaxial stretch in mature hearts did not induce endocardial EndMT. In contrast, immature rats showed significantly more cells undergoing EndMT in stretched hearts compared to controls (**p < 0.05).