Fig. 2

Histologic assessment of myocardial fibrosis. Frozen mouse heart tissue was sectioned and stained with Masson’s trichrome stain to assess myocardial fibrosis (blue tissue coloration). a Representative images of Masson’s trichrome stained heart tissue, with groups identified as follows: 1: Vehicle, 2: Nicorandil, 3: Isoproterenol, 4: Isoproterenol + Nicorandil. Images are centered in the interventricular septum (IVS) and areas corresponding to right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle (LV) are labeled. b Quantification of percent fibrosis on Masson’s trichrome staining, represented as percentage of total tissue area ± SEM. Isoproterenol led to an increase in percent fibrosis. Nicorandil was protective against isoproterenol-induced fibrosis. Number of samples for each experimental group: vehicle n = 10, Nicorandil n = 10, Isoproterenol n = 14, Isoproterenol + Nicorandil n = 14. SEM, standard error of the mean. (*p < 0.05 vs vehicle)