Fig 1.
Infarct size, anatomical and morphometric measurements in FAP-KO and WT mice 7 days (WT: n = 8, FAP-KO: n = 5) and 28 days (WT: n = 8, FAP-KO: n = 12) after MI.
A) Myocardial infarction (MI) size was not different between groups after 7 or 28 days. At 28 days after MI, average scar thickness and minimal scar thickness was higher in FAP-KO animals, resulting in reduced infarct expansion index compared to WT. B) Survival after MI was not different in both groups in the first 14 days. C) H&E stained sections of the LV 7d (left panels) and 28d (right panels) after MI. * = p<0.05 WT vs. FAP-KO. Plots show individual data and mean. Mann-Whitney-U test. Scale bars = 1mm.
Fig 2.
Echocardiography in FAP-KO and WT mice 14 and 28 days after MI.
Left ventricular end-diastolic (PA EDA) and end-systolic area (PA ESA) measured at the papillary level was reduced in FAP-KO animals as compared to wild-type animals. Moreover, there was a trend towards increased fractional shortening (PA 2D FS) at papillary level in the FAP-KO group. * = p<0.05 WT vs. FAP-KO. Mann-Whitney-U test. Plots show individual data and mean. WT: n = 8, FAP-KO: n = 12.
Fig 3.
Quantitative analysis of stained area fractions of CD68 (A) and α-SM actin (B) in the intact and infarcted myocardium (inf.) at 7 days after myocardial infarction (MI). In the intact myocardium, CD68 and α-SM actin expression was very low. In contrast, infarcted myocardium showed robust expression of both CD68 and alpha-SM actin, with no significant difference between both groups. Representative LV sections shown in A (CD68) and B (α-SM actin) are from the same animal in WT (left panels) or FAP-KO group (right panels), respectively. C) Nuclear density and proliferation index were analyzed in animals treated with twice daily BrdU injections for 14 days after MI. While there was increased nuclear density and proliferation in the infarcted myocardium compared to intact myocardium at 14 days after MI, no differences between nuclear density or proliferation index in WT vs. FAP-KO animals were detected (n.s.). Plots show individual data and mean. A: WT n = 7, FAP-KO n = 4; B: WT n = 8, FAP-KO n = 5; C: WT n = 3, FAP-KO n = 4; Mann-Whitney-U test. Scale bars = 500μm (A,B) or 10μm (C).
Fig 4.
Quantitative analysis of myocyte cross sectional area (A), capillary density (B) and collagen content (C) in surving myocardium at 28 days after myocardial infarction (MI), showing no difference between groups. Plots show individual data and mean. A: WT n = 7, FAP-KO n = 9; B: WT n = 7, FAP-KO n = 10; C: WT n = 8, FAP-KO n = 12; Mann-Whitney-U test. Scale bars = 10μm (A), 50μm (B), 20μm (C).