Figure 8
Gene expression of conduction system markers in E11.5 cultures treated with or without ANP and a PKG inhibitor, Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS. RT-qPCR analysis was used to monitor HCN4 (A) and Cx40 (B) gene expression levels in cells treated with ANP (1 μg/ml) and or a PKG inhibitor, Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS (100 µM) for 24 hours. Expression levels were normalized to GAPDH via ∆∆CT method. Relative expression levels were presented as fold changes in comparison to the levels in untreated cultures (No ANP or PKG inhibitor). Addition of Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS alone significantly reduced HCN4 and Cx40 gene expression. Co-treatment with ANP partially rescued the inhibitory effects of Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS on VCS marker gene expression. N = 8 independent experiments per group, each bar represents mean ± SEM, *P < 0.005 Vs. all groups in both panels, #P < 0.05 Vs. Cont (No ANP and No PKG inhibitor) and 0.005 Vs. all other groups in panel A. One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons post hoc test.
