Fig. 7

Rhein activated AMPK activity and expression leading to blocked FGF23 expression. A–C Representative immunoblots and quantitative results for the overall and p-AMPK expression (n = 4 per group). D Representative immunoblots and quantitative results for FGF23 expression (n = 4 per group). E Representative micrographs of CMs stained with α-actinin (red) and DAPI (blue) (scale bars = 20 μm; n ≥ 50 cells per group). F Immunofluorescence staining of α-SMA expression (green) and nuclei (DAPI, blue) (n = 5 per group, ≥ 20 fields per group; scale bar = 100 μm). G CCK-8 assay quantification of CF proliferation (n = 5 per experiment). H, I RT-qPCR quantification of ANP, collagen I, and NOX2 mRNA levels (n = 5 per experiment). A–D *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01; E-I, *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 vs. the Ang II + vehicle group; ^#P < 0.05 and ^##P < 0.01 vs. the Ang II + rhein25 + vehicle group