fig1

Figure 1. DNA strand breaks (COMET assay) and expression of the cytosolic DNA sensing proteins (CDSPs). (A) Immunofluorescence panels showing COMET cells, identified as cells showing fluorescence signal emitting from the nuclei as a comet tail, in the control and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) heart samples; (B) Quantitative data on the percentage of cells showing COMET cells (nuclei tails in green); (C-N) Immunoblots showing expression levels of selected CDSPs, as labeled on each blot, along with their quantitative data. The expression level of each protein is normalized to its corresponding GAPDH level and shown as relative levels. Box and whisker plots are shown and include the individual data points, the median, and the minimum and maximum values. All data followed the Gaussian distribution, as analyzed by the Shapiro-Wilk normality test. The differences between the two groups were compared by unpaired t-test.