Effect of Shensong Yangxin on the Progression of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation is Correlated with Regulation of Autonomic Nerve Activity.

Figures

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  Figure 1. Changes of AERP in the control, pacing, and pacing + SSYX groups after long-term intermittent atrial pacing. *P < 0.05 versus control group, †P < 0.01 versus control group; ‡P < 0.001 versus control group; §P < 0.05, pacing + SSYX group versus pacing group; ||P < 0.01, pacing + SSYX group versus pacing group. SSYX: Shensong Yangxin; AERP: Atrial effective refractory period.

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  Figure 2. Comparison of the induced times and durations of AF in control, pacing, and pacing + SSYX groups. *P < 0.01 versus control group, †P < 0.001 versus control group; ‡P < 0.05, pacing + SSYX group versus pacing group; §P < 0.01, pacing + SSYX group versus pacing group. AF: Atrial fibrillation; SSYX: Shensong Yangxin.

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  Figure 3. Histological findings of TH and ChAT RA nerves in all groups. Representative images of TH immunofluorescence staining (original magnification, ×400) of RA in the control group (a), the pacing group (b), and the pacing + SSYX group (c). Exemplary pictures of ChAT immunofluorescence staining of RA in the control group (d), the pacing group (e), and the pacing + SSYX group (f) and statistical chart of TH and ChAT RA nerve (g). *P < 0.001 versus control group; †P < 0.05 versus pacing group. Blue: Nucleus of cardiomyocyte; Red: TH-positive and ChAT-positive nerves. TH: Tyrosine hydroxylase; ChAT: Choline acetyltransferase; RA: Right atrium; SSYX: Shensong Yangxin.

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  Figure 4. Histological sections of TH and ChAT in LA nerves in all groups. Exemplary pictures of TH immunofluorescence staining (original magnification, ×400) of LA in the control group (a), the pacing group (b), and the pacing + SSYX group (c). Exemplary pictures of CHAT immunofluorescence staining of LA in the control group (d), the pacing group (e), the pacing + SSYX group (f), and statistical chart of TH and ChAT in the LA nerve (g). Blue: Nucleus of cardiomyocyte; Red: TH-positive and ChAT-positive nerves. *P < 0.01 versus control group, †P < 0.001 versus control group; ‡P < 0.001, pacing + SSYX group versus pacing group. TH: Tyrosine hydroxylase; ChAT: Choline acetyltransferase; LA: Left atrium; SSYX: Shensong Yangxin.

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  Figure 5. Western blot results of TNF-α, IL-6, and α7nAchR in samples extracts from the RA. (a) Representative images of Western blot results for IL-6 with a specific band at 25,000, for TNF-α with a specific band at 17,000, for α7nAchR with a specific band at 56,000 Western blot results analyses were performed for control, pacing, and pacing + SSYX groups. Antibodies for GAPDH with a specific band at 37,000 were used as a reference. (b) Statistical chart of Western blot results of RA. *P < 0.001 versus control group; †P < 0.001, pacing + SSYX group versus pacing group. IL-6: Interleukin-6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; α7nAChR: α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor protein; GAPDH: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; RA: Right atrium; SSYX: Shensong Yangxin.

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  Figure 6. Western blot results of protein samples extracts from the LA. Representative images of Western blot results for IL-6 with a specific band at 25,000, for TNF-α with a specific band at 17,000, for α7nAchR with a specific band at 56,000 Western blot results analyses were performed for control, pacing, and pacing + SSYX groups. Antibodies for GAPDH with a specific band at 37,000 were used as a reference. (b) Statistical chart of Western blot results of LA. *P < 0.001 versus control group; †P < 0.001, pacing + SSYX group versus pacing group. IL-6: Interleukin-6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; α7nAChR: α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor protein; GAPDH: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; LA: Left atrium; SSYX: Shensong Yangxin.