Fig. 8
Assessment of the inflammatory status in mouse hearts after treatment with angiotensin II and hiPS-EVs. A Schematic illustration of the experimental pipeline. B Hematoxylin–eosin staining of heart tissue cross-sections. Inflamed areas with visible infiltration of immune cells can be recognized as bluish areas in contrast to a healthy tissue in pink. Representative pictures of cross-sections (upper panel) and zoomed areas (lower panel) are shown. C Relative quantification of immune cell infiltration in the heart tissue (n = 5–6). D Analysis of transcript levels for pro-inflammatory cytokines (Tnf-α, Il-6) measured with real-time qPCR method (n = 5–6). Abbreviations: PBS, control mice without induction of fibrosis; Ang14, fibrotic mice analyzed 14 days after angiotensin II administration in osmotic pumps; Ang28, fibrotic mice analyzed at the end of the experiment (day 28). Fibrotic mice received EVs from the atmospheric oxygen concentration — EV-N or from the 5% O2 hypoxia (EV-H5). All data are presented as the mean ± SD. Statistical significance was tested using Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn’s post hoc test (C) and Welch-ANOVA with Dunnett’s post hoc test (D). *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01