Fig. 3
The mRNA and protein levels of corin and ANP in the heart of DCM and Ctrl rats. a–c The mRNA levels of corin and ANP in hearts of the two groups. a RT-PCR analysis of corin and ANP expression. b, c Quantification for cardiac corin and ANP mRNA levels by real-time qPCR (n = 7 rats for each group in b, n = 6 rats for each group in c. d–f The protein levels of corin and ANP in DCM and Ctrl rats were determined by western blot (n = 7 rats for each group in e, n = 8 rats for each group in f). g, h Corin and ANP levels of DCM and Ctrl rats at 12, 16, 20, 33 weeks were measured by western blot. i–k Corin and ANP protein levels in two groups were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and densitometry analysis. For quantification, at least four randomly selected fields from each rat myocardial tissue under ×400 magnification were analyzed using NIH image software. Bar 30 μm (n = 4 rats for each group). l The levels of NT-proANP in the plasma of DCM and Ctrl rats were measured by ELISA (n = 15 rats for each group). Data are presented as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 versus Ctrl