8-week C57BL/6J male mice purchased from Comparative Medicine Center of Yangzhou University were retained with unrestricted access to sterilized diet and water at standard bio-clean laboratory settings (Experimental Animal Center of College of Veterinary Medicine of Yangzhou University). Animals were randomly divided into four groups(n = 6-8 mice per group): control group or ISO group: injected with saline or ISO (5 mg/kg) subcutaneously for 14 days and, meanwhile, received vehicle saline via gavage for 14 days respectively; ATV (Pfizer,USA) group or ISO + ATV group: injected with saline or 5 mg/kg ISO (Sigma, USA) subcutaneously for 14 days and, meanwhile, received 20 mg/kg ATV via gavage for 14 days respectively.

Male Sprague Dawley ratsweighing 80-100 g were used to make the HF model induced by descending aortic banding (AB) procedure. Rats receiving a similar procedure except for the arterial ligation were defined as the sham-operated (SO) group. After the procedure, echocardiography was immediately applied to confirm the arterial banding. Rats receiving subcutaneous injections of low- or high-dose puerarin (100 mg/kg/day and 200 mg/kg/day, respectively) after the AB procedure were respectively defined as the Pue1 and Pue2 groups. An equal volume of normal saline was injected into the rats of the SO and AB groups.

8-week C57BL/6J male mice purchased from Comparative Medicine Center of Yangzhou University were retained with unrestricted access to sterilized diet and water at standard bio-clean laboratory settings (Experimental Animal Center of College of Veterinary Medicine of Yangzhou University). Animals were randomly divided into four groups(n = 6-8 mice per group): control group or ISO group: injected with saline or ISO (5 mg/kg) subcutaneously for 14 days and, meanwhile, received vehicle saline via gavage for 14 days respectively; ATV (Pfizer,USA) group or ISO + ATV group: injected with saline or 5 mg/kg ISO (Sigma, USA) subcutaneously for 14 days and, meanwhile, received 20 mg/kg ATV via gavage for 14 days respectively.

Present animal studies used male Sprague Dawley rats (80-100 g) to create a HF model induced by the descending aortic banding (AB) procedure. The sham-operated (SO) group was defined as rats subjected to a similar procedure with the exception of arterial ligation. Echocardiography was applied to confirm the arterial banding immediately after the surgical procedure.

Six-week-old male C57/BL6J mice (weighting ~18-20 g) were supplied by the Shenyang Military Region General Hospital Experimental Animal Center. The mice were fed a standard diet and had unlimited access to drinking water. After 2 weeks of feeding, the mice were randomly assigned to TAC group (n = 15) and SHAM group (n = 16), and then anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg pentobarbital sodium. To allow direct access to the transverse aorta, the mice a horizontal incision (5 mm in length) was made at the suprasternal notch. TAC operation was then performed by ligating the aorta between the right innominate and left carotid arteries using a 27G needle tied with 7-0 silk suture. The needle was promptly withdrawn, leaving the aortic constriction in place. The surgical procedure of mice in SHAM group was similar to that of mice in TAC group, except that the 7-0 silk suture was only crossed through the aortic arch without ligation.

Six-week-old male C57/BL6J mice (weighting ~18-20 g) were supplied by the Shenyang Military Region General Hospital Experimental Animal Center. The mice were fed a standard diet and had unlimited access to drinking water. After 2 weeks of feeding, the mice were randomly assigned to TAC group (n = 15) and SHAM group (n = 16), and then anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg pentobarbital sodium. To allow direct access to the transverse aorta, the mice a horizontal incision (5 mm in length) was made at the suprasternal notch. TAC operation was then performed by ligating the aorta between the right innominate and left carotid arteries using a 27G needle tied with 7-0 silk suture. The needle was promptly withdrawn, leaving the aortic constriction in place. The surgical procedure of mice in SHAM group was similar to that of mice in TAC group, except that the 7-0 silk suture was only crossed through the aortic arch without ligation.

8-week C57BL/6J male mice purchased from Comparative Medicine Center of Yangzhou University were retained with unrestricted access to sterilized diet and water at standard bio-clean laboratory settings (Experimental Animal Center of College of Veterinary Medicine of Yangzhou University). Animals were randomly divided into four groups(n = 6-8 mice per group): control group or ISO group: injected with saline or ISO (5 mg/kg) subcutaneously for 14 days and, meanwhile, received vehicle saline via gavage for 14 days respectively; ATV (Pfizer,USA) group or ISO + ATV group: injected with saline or 5 mg/kg ISO (Sigma, USA) subcutaneously for 14 days and, meanwhile, received 20 mg/kg ATV via gavage for 14 days respectively.