Fig. 2
From: Mitofusins regulate lipid metabolism to mediate the development of lung fibrosis
Mice with AEC2 cell-specific deletion of Mfn1 or Mfn2. a Schema demonstrating the generation of AEC2 cell-specific mice deficient in Mfn1 or Mfn2 using a tamoxifen-inducible Sftpc-promoter driven CreERT2. SftpcCreERT2+/− mice were used as controls. b Genotyping of DNA extracted from CD45(−)EpCAM(+) cells and CD45(-)EpCAM(−) cells isolated from control and Mfn1iΔAEC2 mice 6 weeks after tamoxifen injection (n = 3 mice per group). c Representative immunoblots of AEC2 cell lysates obtained 3 weeks after tamoxifen-induced deletion, showing decreased protein levels of MFN1 or MFN2 in the respective knockout cells (n = 3 mice per group). d Representative TEM images (upper row, ×12,000, scale bar 2 μm; lower row, ×50,000, scale bar 500 nm) show mitochondrial ultrastructural changes in Mfn1−/− and Mfn2−/− AEC2 cells (n = 3 mice per group) with disrupted cristae marked with white arrowheads. e, f Quantification of (d); mitochondrial number per μm2 of cytosolic area (e) and mitochondrial area (μm2) (f) in each AEC2 cell, using TEM images (×12,000). Each dot represents one AEC2 cell, and the line indicates mean (control AEC2 cells n = 15, Mfn1−/− AEC2 cells n = 14; Mfn2−/− AEC2 cells n = 14, from a total of 3 mice per group; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, vs. control by unpaired Student’s t test). g Representative TEM images (×5000) of the bronchial epithelium in control (SftpcCreERT2+/−), Mfn1iΔAEC2 and Mfn2iΔAEC2 mice (n = 3 mice per group; scale bar 5 μm). h Representative Masson’s trichrome-stained sections (×100 magnification) of murine left lung at 28–32 weeks post tamoxifen-induced deletion (control mice, n = 20; Mfn1iΔAEC2 mice, n = 10; Mfn2iΔAEC2 mice, n = 9; scale bar 3 mm). Source data (c, e, f) are provided as a Source Data file
