Fig 1: Effect of urantide on UII/GPR14, the JAK2/STAT3 pathway and collagen metabolism in the cardiac tissue of rats with AS. Changes in the expression of the following genes and proteins with increasing drug administration time: (A) relative expression level of genes. Changes in the expression of the following genes and proteins with increasing drug administration time: (B-a) relative expression level of signaling pathway proteins, (B-b) relative expression level of collagen metabolism related proteins and (C) MMP-2/TIMP-2 protein ratio. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 vs. the normal group; #P<0.05, ##P<0.01 vs. the AS model group; ^P<0.05, ^^P<0.01 vs. the simvastatin group. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM (n=6–8 rats in each group). AS, atherosclerosis; UII, urotensin II; G protein-coupled receptor 14; JAK2, Janus kinase 2; p, phosphorylated; STAT3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; MMP-2, matrix metalloproteinase 2; TIMP-2, TIMP metallopeptidase inhibitor 2.