Figure 2: Prenatal inflammation exposure predisposes to isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis in adult offspring.

Offspring were treated as describe in Fig. 1. (a) The index of heart weight to body weight ratio (HW/BW) and Left Ventricular Mass Index (LVW/BW) in offspring. n = 8 offspring in each group. (b) Representative images of Masson trichrome staining of LV sections. Myocardial fibrosis was quantified as the collagen volume fraction (CVF). Fibrous collagen: blue; myocyte: Red; scale bar = 100 um, 200×. n = 4 offspring per group. (c) The mRNA levels of α-myosin heavy chain (α-MHC), β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were determined by real-time RT-PCR. β-actin was taken as internal control. n = 5 offspring in each group. (d) The protein expressions of α-MHC and β-MHC were determined by immunoblotting in left ventricle. Representative plots in each group and statistical data of relative densitometry, normalized by GAPDH, are shown. n = 5 offspring in each group. (e) The mRNA levels of myocardial fibrosis marker collagen type I (Col1a1), collagen type III (Col3a1), matrix metalloproteinases 2 (Mmp2) and Mmp9 were determined by real-time RT-PCR. β-actin was taken as internal control. n = 5 offspring in each group. Error bar represents S.D. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01 and ^###p < 0.001 denote the statistical comparison between the two marked treatment groups, respectively. Two-way ANOVA.