Fig. 7: Age- and sex-dependent lung structure and function decline in Tbx4^LME_CreTsc2^KO mice.

a Representative images of the H&E staining of the lung sections of 8-, 12-, and 20-week-old Tbx4^LME_CreTsc2^WT and Tbx4^LME_CreTsc2^KO mice. Experiments were reproducible which is evident from the adjacent quantitative assessment using high-throughput MLI analysis. N = 6 in each group. b Pulmonary function test in the 12-week-old Tbx4^LME_CreTsc2^WT and Tbx4^LME_CreTsc2^KO mice performed by flexiVent. Experimental groups were divided by sex with N = 4 for WT, N = 6 for KO animals per group. Pressure-volume (PV) loops are displaying only the individual deflation limbs for clarity. c FlexiVent parameters for the 24-week-old Tbx4^LME_CreTsc2^WT and Tbx4^LME_CreTsc2^KO mice. N = 3 for each group. The results in all graphs show mean values ± SD. P values obtained from multiple T-test group comparison. Statistical significance determined using the Holm–Sidak method, with alpha = 0.05. Each row was analyzed individually, without assuming a consistent SD. Raw data underlying all graphs is supplied in a Source data file.