Group 1: Normal group (NG), CFs were cultured with DMEM medium with normal glucose (glucose concentration at 5.5 mM) and treated with the same volume of solvent instead of drug.
Group 2: Normal glucose group + Alda-1 (NG + Alda-1), Alda-1 at 20 μM (the specific agonist of ALDH2, Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) [14 (link)] was added into DMEM medium with normal glucose and cultured for 48 h.
Group 3: High glucose groups (HG), CFs were cultured in DMEM medium with high glucose (glucose concentration at 30 mM) to induce injury for 48 h.
Group 4: HG + Alda-1 group (HG + Alda-1), for observing whether activation of ALDH2 can attenuate HG-induced CF injury, 20 μM Alda-1 was added into DMEM medium with 30 mM glucose and cultured for 48 h.
Group 5: HG + Alda-1 + daidzin (HG + Alda-1 + daidzin), 20 μM Alda-1 and 60 μM daidzin (the specific antagonist of ALDH2, Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) [15 (link)] were added into DMEM medium with 30 mM glucose and cultured for 48 h.
Group 6: HG + daidzin group (HG + daidzin), 60 μM daidzin was added into DMEM medium with 30 mM glucose and cultured for 48 h.
Group 7: Hypertonic group (HPG), for excluding the role of hypertonic, CFs were cultured with DMEM medium with 5.5 mM glucose and treated with 24.5 mM mannitol 48 h.
