Fig. 7
THBS2 enhances bleomycin-triggered pulmonary fibrosis. (A) Schematic representation of the experimental approach. WT mice were intratracheal injected with sterile saline or bleomycin. They were treated with or without recombinant THBS2 protein (25 μg/kg and 50 μg/kg) and euthanized after 21 days. (B) The body weights of THBS2 treated and control mice were measured and represented by bars. n = 15 for each group. (C) Survival curves of mice within 21 days are shown. n = 15 for each group. (D) Total lung hydroxyproline content was quantified after 21 days. n = 6 for each group. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ****P < 0.0001. (E) Protein levels of collagen markers measured by Western blot at 21 days. (F) The protein expression levels of each collagen marker were quantitatively analyzed. n = 6 for each group. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM.*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, nsP > 0.05. (G) Representative whole-lung images of hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) (top) from 21-day lung sections; Representative images of 21-day lung tissues stained with H&E (middle) and Masson trichrome (bottom). H&E staining and Ashcroft score were used to measure lung section morphology. The area of lung fibrosis was examined and quantified by Masson`s trichrome stain; Blue color, collagen fiber; red color, cytoplasm or muscle fiber. Scale bars, 2.5 μm (top) and 100 μm (middle and bottom). n = 6 for each group. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. (H) Immunohistochemical images showed CoLI and CoLIII positive areas and staining was quantified. Scale bar, 100 μm. n = 6 for each group. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001.
