Synbiotic Supplementation Attenuates Doxorubicin-Induced Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in the Gut-Heart Axis of Chemotherapy-Treated Mice

Figures

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  Figure 1. (A) Survival rates and (B) changes in body weight among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over three consecutive weeks. (N = 6 per group, (A): Kaplan–Meier test for the survival evaluation; (B): values are expressed as mean ± SEM, ** p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA followed by Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons).

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  Figure 2. (A) Latency to fall time on rotarod, and (B) running time on the treadmill among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over three consecutive weeks. (Values are expressed as mean ± SEM, number of samples per group = 6, ** p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA followed by Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons).

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  Figure 3. (A) Immobility time of forced swimming and (B) grip strength among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over three consecutive weeks. (Values are expressed as mean ± SEM, number of samples per group = 6, ** p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA followed by Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons).

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  Figure 4. Cold sensitivity score among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over three consecutive weeks. (Values are expressed as mean ± SEM, number of samples per group = 6, ** p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA followed by Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons).

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  Figure 5. Fecal pellet number among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over three consecutive weeks.

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  Figure 6. (A) Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining (Aa) of small intestinal tissues and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of the antioxidant stress-related protein SOD2 (Ba) and the inflammation-related protein TNF-α (Bb); (B) relative expression levels of SOD2 (Ba) and TNF-α (Bb) in small intestinal tissues of ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over five consecutive weeks. Arrows indicate hemorrhagic lesions (Aa), SOD2 expression (Ab), and TNF-α expression (Ac) in the small intestines. Scale bar = 100 μm. Data are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 3 per group), with ** p < 0.01 and * p < 0.05 determined by one-way ANOVA followed by the Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons.

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  Figure 7. (A) H&E (Aa) of colon tissue and IHC staining of antioxidant stress-related protein SOD2 (Ab) and inflammation-related protein TNF-α (Ac); (B) comparison of relative expressions of SOD2 (Ba) and TNF-α (Bb) of colon tissue among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over five consecutive weeks.The arrows indicate the expressions of SOD2 (Ab) and TNF-α (Ac) in the colon tissue. Scale bar = 100 μm. (Values are expressed as mean ± SEM, number of samples per group = 3, * p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA followed by Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons).

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  Figure 8. (A) Cardiac ultrasound scan of ICR mice in (a) B mode; (b) M mode; and (c) PW mode; (B) heart rate among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over three consecutive weeks. (Values are expressed as mean ± SEM, number of samples per group = 6, * p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA followed by Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons).

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  Figure 9. (A) H&E (Aa) of myocardial tissue and IHC staining of antioxidant stress-related protein SOD2 (Ab) and inflammation-related protein TNF-α (Ac); (B) comparison of relative expressions of SOD2 (Ba) and TNF-α (Bb) of myocardial tissue among ICR mice subjected to sham, SBT, DOX, and SBT + DOX treatments over five consecutive weeks. The arrows indicate the expressions of hemorrhagic lesions (Aa), SOD2 (Ab), and TNF-α (Ac) in the myocardial tissue. Scale bar = 100 μm. (Values are expressed as mean ± SEM, number of samples per group = 3, ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA followed by Student–Newman–Keuls test for multiple comparisons).

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  Figure 10. The experimental design flowchart illustrates the experiment assessing the impact of SBT on DOX-induced damage.