Figure 5.
Each graph plots XB stress in mN/mm squared on the vertical axis against sarcomere length in micrometers on the horizontal axis. The graphs compare the effects of colchicine treatment versus DMSO treatment on diastolic crossbridge levels in different experimental groups. Panel A shows data for male control (male-ctrl) groups, Panel B for male HFpEF-like groups, Panel C for female control (female-ctrl) groups, and Panel D for female HFpEF-like groups. In each graph, open symbols represent DMSO-treated cells, and filled symbols represent colchicine-treated cells. The data points are connected by dashed lines to indicate trends. In Panel A, colchicine-treated cells exhibit lower diastolic crossbridge levels than DMSO-treated cells at shorter sarcomere lengths. Similarly, in Panel B, colchicine-treated cells show significantly lower crossbridge stress across most sarcomere lengths compared to DMSO-treated cells. Panels C and D show relatively consistent crossbridge stress levels between colchicine-treated and DMSO-treated cells across the sarcomere lengths. The graphs include error bars representing standard error of the mean.
Microtubules influence the magnitude of diastolic XBs. (A–D) XB stress across SL is shown for colchicine-treated vs. DMSO-treated cells in four experimental groups: male-ctrl (A), male HFpEF-like (B), female-ctrl (C), and female HFpEF-like (D). Colchicine-treated cells exhibit lower diastolic XB levels than DMSO-treated cells in male HFpEF-like (B) and male-ctrl at shorter SLs (A). The data are presented as means ± SE. The sample sizes are 9, 10, 8, and 11 mice for male-ctrl, male HFpEF-like, female-ctrl, and female HFpEF-like, with 2–4 colchicine-treated cells and 2–4 DMSO-treated cells analyzed per mouse. Analysis was performed using a linear mixed model at individual SLs. *P ≤ 0.05 and ns indicates not significant.