2-Arachidonoylglycerol Attenuates Myocardial Fibrosis in Diabetic Mice Via the TGF-β1/Smad Pathway

Figures

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  Fig. 1. The effect of 2-AG on blood glucose and body weight. Blood glucose and weight were measured weekly during the study A. Blood glucose levels in the DM and DM + 2-AG groups were significantly higher than those in the CON group. B. Mice in the DM + 2-AG group had significantly improved DM-induced weight loss. ***P < 0.001, **P < 0.01, *P < 0.05 compared with the CON group; ##P < 0.01, compared with DM group. n = 8

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  Fig. 2. 2-AG improves cardiac function and ventricular remodeling in diabetic mice A. Representative images of M-type echocardiograms. B. Overall view of H&E staining. Scale bar, 600 μm. C. Representative diagram of H&E staining cross section of the heart. Scale bar, 30 μm. D. Heart weight. E. Statistical graph of myocardial cross-sectional area. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, compared with the CON group; #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01, compared with the DM group. n = 7

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  Fig. 3. 2-AG inhibits myocardial fibrosis and collagen deposition in diabetic mice A. Representation of the Sirius red-stained heart. Scale bar, 60 μm. B. A representative image of collagen I immunohistochemical staining. Scale bar, 60 μm. C. Statistical graph of the positive area of Sirius red staining. D. Statistical graph of immunohistochemical protein expression. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 compared with the CON group; #P < 0.05 compared to the DM group. n = 7

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  Fig. 4. 2-AG inhibits activation of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway in myocardial fibrosis A. Western blot of TGF-β1, collagen I, p-Smad2/3, Smad2/3, and β-actin. B, C, D, and E are statistical representations of the relative expression of TGF-β1, collagen I, p-Smad2/3, and Smad2/3, respectively. F is the ratio of p-Smad2/3 and Smad2/3. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 compared with the CON group; #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001, compared with the DM group. n = 3