Fig. 2

Down-regulation of MAPKAPK5-AS1 attenuates myocardial apoptosis and inflammation induced by LPS. A MAPKAPK5-AS1 expression in cardiac tissue. B TUNEL staining for cell apoptosis analysis in cardiac tissues. C IHC for CD68 positive cells per × 200 field in cardiac tissues. D Western blot analysis for the expression of t-casp3, c-casp3, t-PARP, e-PARP, Bax, Bcl2 and GAPDH in cardiac tissues. E. Relative expression levels of IL-1β, MCP-1, IL-6, TNF-α, MMP2, and MMP9 in cardiac tissues. Each column represents the mean ± SEM. Statistical differences were evaluated with One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, n = 5