The role of air pollution in myocardial remodeling

Figures

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  Fig 1. A: Photograph of container where the air pollution was captured from the fleet of vehicles. B: Internal space of the container with the exposure chambers.

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  Fig 2. Infarct size. Coronal sections of the whole heart stained by Picrosirius red. EA-MI = external area of myocardial infarction, IA-MI = internal area of myocardial infarction, EA-LV = external area of left ventricle, IA-LV = internal area of left ventricle.

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  Fig 3. Morphometry. A: Picrosirius red-stained tissue showing in red the collagen deposition in the myocardium of the Control group (CG), Control group exposed to PM2.5 (CGP), Myocardial infarcted group (MI), Infarcted group immediately exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-I), Infarcted group previously exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-II). B: Left ventricular-interstitial collagen volume fraction (LV-ICVF) ɸp = 0.002 (CG [15] vs CGP [15]), łp<0.0001 (CG [15] vs MI [7], IGP-I [11], and IGP-II [11]), **p<0.0001 (CGP vs MI) and ǂp = <0.01(CGP vs IGP-I and IGP-II). Right ventricle interstitial collagen volume fraction (RV-ICVF). ++p<0.021 (CG vs CGP), ɸɸp<0.0001 (CG vs MI, IGP-I and IGP-II), łłp = 0.0006 (CGP vs MI) and ǂǂp<0.001(CGP, IGP-I and IGP-II).

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  Fig 4. Inflammatory cell presence. *p<0.0001 (CG vs CGP, MI, IGP-I, and IGP-II, **p<0.05 (CGP vs MI, IGP-I, and IGP-II) łp<0.001 (MI vs IGP-I and IGP-II) and ǂ p<0.001 (IGP-I vs IGP-II). Control group (CG), Control group exposed to PM2.5 (CGP), Myocardial infarcted group (MI), Infarcted group immediately exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-I), Infarcted group previously exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-II).

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  Fig 5. Echocardiography. A: Left Ventricular Dimension. Left Ventricular Systolic Diameter (LVSD) *p≤0.003 (CG [15] vs MI [8], IGP-I [11], and IGP-II [9]), **p≤0.018 (CGP [15] vs MI, and IGP-I) and Left Ventricular Diastolic Diameter (LVDD)—łp = 0.020 (CGP vs IGP-II) (n = 58). B: Left Ventricular Function. Fractional Shortening (FS%) *p≤0.003 (CG vs CGP, MI, IGP-I, and IGP-II) and łp≤0.05 (CGP vs MI and IGP-I). Control group (CG), Control group exposed to PM2.5 (CGP), Myocardial infarcted group (MI), Infarcted group immediately exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-I), Infarcted group previously exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-II).

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  Fig 6. Apoptosis. A: Absolute expression of p53 (*p = 0.020) (CGP vs IGP-II) (n = 60). B: Absolute expression of Bcl-2 (p = 0.27) (n = 60). Control group (CG), Control group exposed to PM2.5 (CGP), Myocardial infarcted group (MI), Infarcted group immediately exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-I), Infarcted group previously exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-II).

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  Fig 7. Inflammatory profile. A: Absolute expression of CCL-3 (p = 0.15) (n = 55). B: Absolute expression of IL-6 (p = 0.07) (n = 60). C: Absolute expression of TGF-β1 *≤0.04 (CG vs MI, IGP-I and IGP-II) and **p = 0.001 (CG vs IGP-II) (n = 60). D: Absolute expression of TNF-α *p = 0.012 (CGP vs IGP-II) (n = 60). Control group (CG), Control group exposed to PM2.5 (CGP), Myocardial infarcted group (MI), Infarcted group immediately exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-I), Infarcted group previously exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-II).

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  Fig 8. Inflammatory profile. A: Absolute expression of INF-gamma (*p = 0.007) (CG vs IGP-II), (**p = 0.002) (CGP vs IGP-II) and (łp≤0.01) (IGP-II vs MI and IGP-I) (n = 59). B: Absolute expression of CCL-21 (łp = 0.04) (CG vs MI) and (**p = 0.004) (CGP vs MI) (n = 55). C: Absolute expression of CCR-7 (*p = 0.003) (CGP vs MI) (n = 55). Control group (CG), Control group exposed to PM2.5 (CGP), Myocardial infarcted group (MI), Infarcted group immediately exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-I), Infarcted group previously exposed to PM2.5 (IGP-II).