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Figure 2. NO signaling participates in the regulation of stretch-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. A) Apoptosis was examined with annexin V-based flow cytometry (upper panel) and DAPI-based fluorescent microscopy (lower panel). To block NO synthesis, cells were pretreated with L-NAME (100 µmol/l) at 37°C for 30 min before stretch. Cells were subjected to 20% sustained stretch for 4 h before apoptosis detection. Arrows indicated apoptotic nucleoli. B, C) Cells were incubated at 37°C for 30 min with L-NAME (100 µmol/l), AMT (100 µmol/l), ODQ (10 µmol/l), or SNAP (100 µmol/l), respectively, in each group before a 4 h stretch. Control cells were incubated with inhibitors without stretch. Apoptotic index was shown as % of fragmented nucleoli (indicated by arrows in panel A). More than 200 nuclei from randomly selected fields (>10 fields per dish) were counted. *P < 0.05.
