Figure 3

ΔGLY-APN transgenic mice have reduced dermal fibrosis and attrition of dermal white adipose tissue in response to bleomycin treatment. Eight to twelve week-old ΔGLY-APN and wildtype (WT) mice received s.c. injections of bleomycin (BLM) or PBS (control) daily for 14 days, and skin was harvested at day 2. (a) Masson’s Trichrome stain (representative images); scale bar = 100 µm. (b) Dermal thickness. Mean ± SD from three independent experiments (n = 10–13/group). (c) Hydroxyproline assays. Results are the means ± SD of triplicate determinations (4 mice per group for control, 5–9 mice/group for BLM). (d) RNA was analyzed by qPCR. Results, normalized to GAPDH, are mean ± SD of triplicate determinations (n = 3/group for control, n = 5/group for BLM). (e) Immunofluorescence using antibodies to type III collagen (left panels, green) or procollagen I (right panels, red). Representative photomicrographs. Dotted lines indicate epidermal/dermal junction; arrows indicate procollagen I-positive cells within the dermis. Scale bars = 100 µm. (f) Immunopositive cells were counted. Results are means ± SD from three hpf/slide (n = 3 mice/group). Three independently repeated experiments yielded consistent results.