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Figure 1 Experimental design. Normal rats (6 weeks old) were divided into two groups, control group (intraperitoneal administration of 0.4 ml saline 6 times in 2 weeks) and doxorubicin-treated group (intraperitoneal administration of 2.5 mg/kg body weight 6 times in 2 weeks). Two weeks after the final injection, each group was further divided into two groups according to with or without heterotopic heart transplantation (the heart of each group was transplanted into age-matched normal rat abdomen). Cont0 = control group two weeks after the final intraperitoneal injection; DOX0 = doxorubicin-treated group two weeks after the final intraperitoneal injection; Cont = control group four weeks after the final intraperitoneal injection; DOX = doxorubicin-treated group four weeks after the final intraperitoneal injection; Control+UL = the heart from the control group, which was applied unloading for two weeks; DOX+UL = the heart from the doxorubicin-treated group, which was applied unloading for two weeks. Cont+UL was compared with Cont to evaluate the effects of mechanical unloading on normal hearts; DOX+UL was compared with DOX to evaluate the effects of unloading on the failing myocardium. All four groups (Cont, Cont+UL, DOX, and DOX+UL) were age-matched at the time of in vitro analysis.
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