Fig. 7: Prdx3 alleviates experimental pulmonary fibrosis in mice.

a Schematic diagram of the procedure for overexpression of Prdx3 via AAV5 in the BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis model. b Pulmonary function parameters, including Cst and IC, were measured in WT mice treated with AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC; n = 4. c Micro-CT images of the axial plane (upper panels) and the corresponding coronal plane (middle panels) in WT mice treated with AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC. The bottom panels show images of three-dimensional reconstructions of lung tissues based on the density; n = 3. d Western blot analysis of Fn1 and α-SMA protein expression in WT mice treated with AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC; n = 6. eThe mRNA expression of Fn1, Collagen 1α1, Collagen 3α1, and ACTA2 in WT mice treated with AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC was measured by qRT–PCR; n = 5. f, g Images of Masson’s trichrome staining and immunohistochemical staining of paraffin-embedded lung sections from AAV5-Prdx3- or AAV5-NC-treated WT mice. Scale bars, 50 μm. h Hydroxyproline content in WT mice administered AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC; n = 6. i Images of HE staining in paraffin-embedded lung sections from AAV5-Prdx3- or AAV5-NC-treated WT mice. Scale bars, 50 μm. j SA-β-gal staining of frozen lung tissue slides. Scale bars, 50 μm. k Western blot analysis of p21 protein expression in WT mice treated with AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC; n = 6. l Transmission electron microscopy images of tissue samples from WT mice intratracheally administered AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC. Scale bars, 500 nm. m Western blot analysis of the protein expression of Drp1 and Mfn2 in WT mice administered AAV5-Prdx3 or AAV5-NC; n = 3–6. The data are presented as the means ± SEMs. **P < 0.01.