Fig. 5

Electron microscopic imaging. A Pronounced ultrastructural changes were seen in the ultrathin myocardial sections obtained from the D-CON group: myofibrillolysis (d), vacuolisation (c, arrow), mitochondrial damage (c, arrowhead), Z-disc degradation (b, d, arrow) and chromatin disintegration in the nuclei (a, arrow). Samples from the POST animals displayed a visually similar ultrastructural pattern to those from the D-CON group, with less pronounced mitochondrial damage, while in the PRE group, most of the above ultrastructural changes were not apparent—except for a mild degree of myofibrillolysis. B Densitometry suggested a preserved myocardial ultrastructure in the PRE, but not in the POST group. AU optical density in arbitrary units. n number of animals per group (1-6 images per animal); Statistics: Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test; numbers are p values; NS non-significant