Fig. 3: Overexpression of YAP1 in AT2 cells mitigated pulmonary fibrosis.
a Breeding method for generating YAP1-cKI mice. YAP1S127A mice were hybridized with Sftpc-CreERT2 mice. b Schematic diagram showing the overexpression of YAP1 in the BLM-induced mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis. c Western blot analysis of the expression of YAP1 in AT2 cells isolated from YAP1-cKI mice; n = 6. d Representative images showing YAP1 (red), Sftpc (green), and nuclei (blue) in lung sections from WT and YAP1-cKI mice. Scale bars, 10 μm. e Pulmonary function parameters, including the Cst and IC, were measured in the different groups; n = 4. f Micro-CT images of the axial plane (upper panels) and corresponding coronal plane (middle panels) in separate groups are shown. The bottom panels show images of three-dimensional reconstructions of lung tissues based on the density; n = 3. g The expression of Fn1 and α-SMA in lung homogenates from BLM-induced WT and YAP1-cKI mice was assessed by western blot analysis; n = 6. h qRT‒PCR analysis of the mRNA expression of Fn1, Collagen1α1, Collagen 3α1 and ACTA2 in WT and YAP1-cKI mice treated with saline or BLM; n = 6. i, j Masson’s trichrome staining and immunohistochemical staining of paraffin lung sections from WT or YAP1-cKI mice administered saline or BLM; n = 5. Scale bars, 50 μm. k Hydroxyproline content in WT and YAP1-cKI mice treated with saline or BLM; n = 6. The data are presented as the means ± SEMs. ** P < 0.01.
