Figure 3

KLK8 transgenic rats show cardiac dysfunction.

(A) Western blot analysis showed significant increases of KLK8 protein expression in heart homogenates obtained from Tg-KLK8 rats compared with those from control rats. (B–D) mRNA level of cardiac hypertrophic markers ANP (B), BNP (C) and Myh7 (D) in hearts from Tg-KLK8 and littermate control rats at the age of 6 and 12 weeks were determined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. (E) WGA staining was performed on transverse sections of the hearts from Tg-KLK8 and littermate control rats at the age of 6 and 12 weeks. (F) Mean cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area was quantified using the Image-J cell area measurement software. Six rats were analyzed for each group and 30 to 40 cardiomyocytes were measured per rat (n = 200 cells/group). (G) Histological analysis using masson staining of the hearts from Tg-KLK8 and littermate control rats at the age of 6 and 12 weeks. H, Representative M-mode images of Tg-KLK8 and littermate control rats at the age of 6 and 12 weeks. Scale bar: 50 μm. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 vs 6-week old littermate control rats; ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01 vs 12-week old littermate control rats.