Atorvastatin Prevents Myocardial Fibrosis in Spontaneous Hypertension via Interleukin-6 (IL-6)/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3)/Endothelin-1 (ET-1) Pathway

Figures

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  Figure 1. Atorvastatin improved hypertension in SHR rats. Systolic blood pressure was monitored for 6 weeks. *** P<0.001 SHR vs. WKY. ## P<0.01, ### P<0.001 Ato (10, 25, 50 mg/kg/d) vs. SHR. &&& P<0.001 Ato (50 mg/kg/d) + AG490 vs. Ato (50 mg/kg/d). WKY – control group; SHR – SHR model group; Ato – atorvastatin with 10, 25, 50 mg/kg per day. Ato+Ag490 – AG490 as a STAT3 inhibitor co-treated with Atorvastatin in SHR.

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  Figure 2. Left ventricular mass index and morphological index changed in SHR. (A) Left ventricular mass index. (B) Masson’s trichrome stain was used to detect interstitial fibrosis. (C) The area ratio of collagen and myocardium. *** P<0.001 SHR vs. WKY. # P<0.05, ### P<0.001 Ato (10, 25, 50 mg/kg/d) vs. SHR. &&& P<0.001 Ato (50 mg/kg/d) + AG490 vs. Ato (50 mg/kg/d). LVW – left ventricular weight; BW – body weight. WKY – control group; SHR – SHR model group; Ato – atorvastatin with 10, 25, 50 mg/kg per day. Ato+Ag490 – AG490 as a STAT3 inhibitor co-treated with Atorvastatin in SHR.

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  Figure 3. Atorvastatin regulated myocardial fibrosis via IL-6/ET-1. The secretion of ET-1 (A) and IL-6 (B) in plasma of the different groups. (C) IL-6 and ET-1 in myocardial tissue were detected via Western blot. *** P<0.001 vs. WKY. # P<0.05, ## P<0.01, ### P<0.001 vs. SHR. WKY – control group; SHR – SHR model group; Ato – Atorvastatin with 10, 25, 50 mg/kg per day; Ato+Ag490 – AG490 as a STAT3 inhibitor co-treated with Atorvastatin in SHR.

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  Figure 4. Atorvastatin regulated myocardial fibrosis via phosphorylation of STAT3. (A) The expression of STAT3 and p-STAT3 in plasma of the different groups by Western blot. (B) Quantitative analysis of STAT3 and p-STAT3 protein levels. * P<0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P<0.001 tyr705 vs. ser727. WKY – control group; SHR – SHR model group; Ato – atorvastatin with 10, 25, 50 mg/kg per day; Ato+Ag490 – AG490 as a STAT3 inhibitor co-treated with Atorvastatin in SHR.