Journal: Frontiers in Physiology
Article Title: Apelin Inhibits Angiotensin II-Induced Atrial Fibrosis and Atrial Fibrillation via TGF-β1/Smad2/α-SMA Pathway
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.583570
Figure Lengend Snippet: Apelin inhibits fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-β1/Smad2/α-SMA pathway. (A) DDR2/a-SMA co-staining of murine atrial sections showed a significant higher amount of fibrosis in the atrial tissue of Ang II group compared with the control group, while apelin treatment reduced the fibrosis to the level of animals in the control group. Scale bar indicates 50 μm. (B) Apelin reduces TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of Smad2, as detected by western blot. ∗ P < 0.001 ( n = 16 in each group).
Article Snippet: Sections were incubated overnight in mouse anti-rat DDR2 antibody (1:100 dilution, Sigma-Aldrich, United States) with rabbit anti-rat α-SMA (1:500 dilution, Sigma-Aldrich, United States) and then incubated with goat anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor ® 488 and goat anti-mouse Alexa Fluor ® 594-conjugated secondary antibodies at a dilution of 1: 5000 and mounted with VectaShield ® Antifade Mounting Medium with DAPI.
Techniques: Staining, Western Blot