Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 2 pp 2231—2250

Figure 5. Expression of early myocardial markers on mRNA level. (A–C) The relative mRNA expression of early myocardial markers Nkx2.5, GATA4 and Mesp1 on different matrix of 13-16 kPa, 62-68 kPa and control group at the same time point, the 1^st day, the 7^th day and the 14^th day. On the 7^th day and the 14^th day, the expression on the 13-16 kPa matrix was highest among the three groups. (D, E) The expression tendency of the three early myocardial markers on the same stiffness changed with time. The highest expression of Nkx2 and Mesp1 on 62-68 kPa and 13-16 kPa emerged on the 7^th day, while the expression of GATA4 decreased gradually over time. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001. n=3.