Fig. 4

MALAT1 inhibited proliferation and enhanced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes through inhibiting autophagy. Cardiomyocytes were transfected with pcDNA3.1-MALAT1 (MALAT1) or empty pcDNA3.1 (Vector), followed by treatment with autophagy activator rapamycin before stimulation with H/R injury. a The cell proliferation was evaluated using MTT assay. b The cell apoptosis was evaluated using TUNEL staining. The nick-ends were labeled in green indicating the apoptotic cells and the cell nucleus was labeled in blue by DAPI. Scale bar: 20 μm. c Western blot was performed to detect protein levels of Caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 in cardiomyocytes. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs. Vector group; ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01 vs. MALAT1 group