Exosomes from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Overexpressed Nrf2 Inhibit Cardiac Fibrosis in Rats with Atrial Fibrillation

Figure 3

Lv-Nrf2 exosomes thwarted cardiac arrhythmias within AF rats. AF was established in rats using calcium chloride-acetylcholine (CaCl₂-Ach) mixture via tail vein injection once per day, for seven consecutive days. The normal control group was intravenously treated with equivalent volume of 0.9% saline through the tail vein. Then, the exosomes derived from the control BMSCs or Lv-Nrf2 BMSCs were injected once a week to AF rats, and the CaCl₂-Ach solution was continued to be injected into the tail vein every 3 days for 3 weeks, while the AF control group was treated with the equivalent level of PBS. (a) PKH26-labeled exosome distribution within the myocardium. . (b) The representative immunohistochemical stain showing the Nrf2/HO-1 cardiac expression within rats. . (c, d) Quantification for percentage positive Nrf2 (c)/HO-1 (d) staining area. (e) Representative Western blot imaging for Nrf2/HO-1 proteins involved within rat myocardial tissue across different groups. (f) Densitometric quantification showing the (e) relative proteomic expression normalized against GAPDH. (g) Changes in the electrocardiogram of each group were detected. (h) AF duration of each group was measured. in each group. Results are presented as . , in comparison to the control group. ^#, ^## in comparison to the AF+PBS group.

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