Assessment of the Protective Role of Prenatal Zinc versus Insulin Supplementation on Fetal Cardiac Damage Induced by Maternal Diabetes in Rat Using Caspase-3 and KI67 Immunohistochemical Stains

Figure 1

Photomicrograph of H&E (×400) sections in the fetal myocardium. (a) Control group showing normal striated pattern of the cardiomyocytes with centrally located nuclei (arrow) and eosinophilic cytoplasm (double arrow). (b) STZ-induced DM group showing myocardial disarray, marked vacuolar degeneration of the cardiomyocytes (V), fragmentation of the nuclei of cardiomyocytes (arrow) and pyknotic changes of the nuclei (arrow head), congested blood vessels (C), and discontinuation of the vessel wall (dashed arrow) with the presence of subendocardial thickening (double arrow). (c) STZ-induced DM treated with zinc group showing restored architecture of cardiomyocytes with the presence of mild vacuolar degeneration (V). (d) STZ-induced DM treated with insulin group showing focal improvement of the myocardium with the presence of vacuolar degeneration (V) and myocardial hemorrhage (H) with extravasated red blood cells within the myocardial tissue (arrow).

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