Fig. 6

Assessment of cardiac structures, including electrical signal transmission networks, vascular networks, and cardiomyocytes on day 28 after MI. a Representative immunofluorescence images co-stained for CX43 (green) and α-actinin (red). b Optical density semi-quantitative analysis of CX43 and α-actinin expression. c Representative immunofluorescence images of blood vessels co-stained for CD31 (green) and α-SMA (red). d Quantitative analysis of the neovessels in the infarct regions. e Evaluation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis in the border zone of infarcted hearts by TUNEL staining and f semi-quantitative analysis. g Western blot and h quantification of TNF-α expression in infarcted myocardium. All bars represent as means ± SD (n = 3). *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001