Fig. 5. Redox-sensitive gene activation of the cardiac-specific transcription factors Mef 2c (A), Dtef (B), Gata4 (C), Nkx2.5 (D) as well as the cardiac cell differentiation associated growth factor Bmp10 (E) in embryoid bodies upon treatment with 500 nM H₂O₂. Note that preincubation with the antioxidants vitamin E (100 µM) and NMPG (100 µM) totally abolished the activation of the Mef2c and Dtef genes, whereas gene activation already in the absence of H₂O₂ occurred when Gata4, Nkx2.5 and Bmp10 mRNA expression was investigated. ^*P<0.05, significantly different to the untreated control.