Effects of sildenafil on skeletal and cardiac muscle atrophy.

<p>Data are reported as median and interquartile range.</p>a<p>Interaction between training and sildenafil dose was statistically significant (sildenafil dose effect must be read separately for sedentary and trained rats).</p><p>Training effect: ^bp<0.001 Trained vs. Sedentary.</p><p>Sildenafil dose effect: ^§p<0.001 vs. Untreated, *p<0.05 vs. Untreated, ^°p<0.001 vs. SIL10, ^†p<0.05 vs. SIL10.</p

Effects of sildenafil on gastrocnemius and cardiac muscle hypoxia-responsive genes.

<p>Data are reported as median and interquartile range.</p>a<p>Interaction between training and sildenafil dose was statistically significant (sildenafil dose effect must be read separately for sedentary and trained rats).</p><p>Training effect: ^bp<0.001 Trained vs. Sedentary.</p><p>Sildenafil dose effect: ^§p<0.001 vs. Untreated, *p<0.05 vs. Untreated, ^°p<0.001 vs. SIL10.</p

Effects of sildenafil treatment on rats exercise capacity.

<p>For each day, average duration of exercise (minutes) is reported for each experimental group. Vertical bars represent standard deviation (SD).</p

Example of capillaries labelled with PECAM1 antibody (green) in a skeletal muscle tissue (α-sarcomeric actin antibody, red).

<p>Observed capillary-to-fibre ratio in untreated and sildenafil-treated sedentary animals (SED and SED+SIL, respectively) and untreated and sildenafil-treated trained rats (TR and TR+SIL) are plotted. Median values are highlighted by solid circles.</p

The expression of FoxO3a in the myocyte nuclei of sedentary (upper panel) and trained (lower panel) rats.

<p>Myocyte cytoplasm was identified with α-sarcomeric actin antibody labelling (red). Nuclei are stained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI, blue). Observed percentages of FoxO3a-positive nuclei (green) in untreated and sildenafil-treated sedentary animals (SED and SED+SIL, respectively) and untreated and sildenafil-treated trained rats (TR and TR+SIL) are plotted. Median values are highlighted by solid circles.</p

Examples of coronary capillaries labelled with PECAM1 antibody (green) in the myocardium of rats.

<p>Sedentary animal (upper panel) and trained rat treated with sildenafil (lower panel). Nuclei are stained with DAPI (blue). Observed quantification of the number of coronary capillaries in untreated and sildenafil-treated sedentary animals (SED and SED+SIL, respectively) and untreated and sildenafil-treated trained rats (TR and TR+SIL) are plotted. Median values are highlighted by solid circles.</p

Effects of sildenafil on skeletal and cardiac muscle atrophy.

<p>PGC-1α, FoxO3a, Atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 gene expression was measured by real-time PCR. Left panel (A–D) gastrocnemius gene expression; right panel (E–H) cardiac gene expression. Individual observed values are plotted by study groups. Median values are highlighted by solid circles.</p

Representative western blot analysis of gastrocnemius and cardiac muscle tissues in sedentary and trained rats.

<p>Data are reported as median and interquartile range.</p>a<p>Interaction between training and sildenafil dose was statistically significant (sildenafil dose effect must be read separately for sedentary and trained rats).</p><p>Training effect: ^bp<0.001 Trained vs. Sedentary.</p><p>Sildenafil dose effect: ^§p<0.001 vs. Untreated, *p<0.05 vs. Untreated, ^°p<0.001 vs. SIL10, ^†p<0.05 vs. SIL10.</p

Cross-section of muscle fibre of a gastrocnemius muscle.

<p>Myocyte cytoplasm was identified with α-sarcomeric actin antibody staining (green). Cell nuclei are labelled with propidium iodide (PI; red). Observed quantification of fibre cross-sectional area in untreated and sildenafil-treated sedentary animals (SED and SED+SIL, respectively) and untreated and sildenafil-treated trained rats (TR and TR+SIL) are plotted. Median values are highlighted by solid circles.</p

Primer sequences used for real-time PCR mRNA analyses.

<p>Primer sequences used for real-time PCR mRNA analyses.</p