Fig. 4: Postpartum Ptrh2-CKO hearts demonstrate increased apoptosis that is abrogated by caspase 3 inhibitor. | Nature Communications

Fig. 4: Postpartum Ptrh2-CKO hearts demonstrate increased apoptosis that is abrogated by caspase 3 inhibitor.

From: Peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase 2 is a negative regulator of peripartum cardiomyopathy with heart failure in female mice

Fig. 4

pAkt, Akt, and Bcl-2 immunoblots (left) and quantification (right; pAkt/Akt, p = 0.002; Bcl-2/Gapdh, p = 0.002) in LVs from Ptrh2-NT and Ptrh2-CKO mice in Never Pregnant (a) or Postpartum (b) groups normalized to Gapdh. n = 3–4 biologically independent mice/genotype/group. Caspase 3 immunoblot (left) and quantification (right; p = 0.019) in LVs from Ptrh2-NT and Ptrh2-CKO Never Pregnant (c) or PostPartum (d) groups normalized to Gapdh. n = 5 biologically independent mice/genotype/group. Statistical test (a–d) by Two-Tailed unpaired t-test in triplicate. Error bars are mean± s.e.m. e Representative LV samples co-stained with TUNEL (green color), DAPI (blue color) and α-actinin (red color) and quantified (right bar graph) from Ptrh2-NT and Ptrh2-CKO mice: Never Pregnant (left panels) or Postpartum (right panels). n = 3 biologically independent mice/genotype/ group with 9 fields/replicate (p < 0.0001). Statistical test by Two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison performed in triplicate. Error bars are mean± s.e.m. f Experimental workflow of caspase 3 inhibitor experiments in Ptrh2-CKO mice. g Ptrh2-CKO survival curves (%) treated with caspase 3 inhibitor or its inactive control. n = 7 biologically independent mice/treatment group performed in triplicate. h H&E (scale bar, 1000 μm), WGA (scale bar, 50 μm) or PSR (scale bar, 50 μm) stained LV sections of Postpartum Ptrh2-CKO+Active inhibitor or Inactive inhibitor control. i HW/BW ratio from Postpartum Ptrh2-CKO mice+Active inhibitor or Inactive inhibitor (n = 7; p < 0.0001) from biologically independent mice/treatment group. j Cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area (μm2) from Postpartum Ptrh2-CKO+Active inhibitor or Inactive control treated mice (n = 4; p < 0.0001) from biologically independent mice/treatment group with ≥300 cells/mouse. k Fibrotic area (%) from Postpartum Ptrh2-CKO+Active inhibitor or Inactive control (n = 4; p < 0.0001) from biologically independent mice/treatment group with 112-17 fields/mouse. Quantification of (l) TUNEL (%) positive cells (n = 5; p = 0.012) or (m) active caspase 3 (n = 3; p = 0.0004) relative to total nuclei in LV sections from Postpartum Ptrh2-CKO+Active inhibitor or Inactive inhibitor treated female mice from biologically independent mice/treatment group. Statistical test (i–m) by Two-tailed unpaired t-test in triplicate. Error bars are mean± s.e.m. Source data provided as a Source Data file. Schematic (f) created using BioRender (https://biorender.com). See Supplementary Fig. 4.

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