Fig. 4

Characterization of female-specific differentially expressed genes and intramuscular immune cells infiltration in the fittest vs. weakest groups of both sexes. A Gene expression of VCAM1 (normalized RNA-seq counts) in the fittest vs. weakest groups of both sexes. B Gene expression of CYBB (normalized RNA-seq counts), encoding for NOX2, in the fittest vs. weakest groups of both sexes. C Representative pictures of NOX2 staining of vastus lateralis tissue (20 × magnification). D Quantification of immunohistological staining of NOX2, expressed as number of NOX2-positive cells per square millimeter. All data were not normally distributed. Values represent mean ± SEM, ***p < 0.001