Figure 7
Decreased BMPER expression with 5′-azacytidine attenuated lung fibrosis in mouse in vivo.
(a) Experimental strategy for in vivo treatments. Mice were given bleomycin (2.5 U/kg) at day 0 and followed by intraperitoneal injection of with 5′-azacytidine (1 mg/kg) every other day from day 3 to day 21. Mice were sacrificed at day 21 and lung tissues were harvested for analysis. (b) BMPER mRNA expression in mouse lung fibroblasts from mice treated with PBS (n = 5), bleomycin only (n = 8) or bleomycin and 5′-azacytidine (n = 6), 3 weeks after bleomycin treatment (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; data are mean and SEM, one-way ANOVA analysis). (c) Immunohistochemical staining of BMPER in lung tissues of mice treated with PBS, bleomycin only, or bleomycin with 5′-azacytidine (scale bars, 5×, 200 μm; 20×, 50 μm). (d) Hydroxyproline content from mice treated with PBS (n = 8), bleomycin only (n = 12) or bleomycin and 5′-azacytidine (n = 13) (**P < 0.01; ****P < 0.0001; data are mean and SEM, one-way ANOVA analysis). (e) Thichrome staining of lungs from mice treated with PBS, bleomycin only, or bleomycin and 5′-azacytidine (scale bars, 5×, 200 μm; 20×, 50 μm). (f) Ashcroft score from mice treated with PBS (n = 5), bleomycin only (n = 5) or bleomycin and 5′-azacytidine (n = 5), 3 weeks after bleomycin treatment (**P < 0.01; ****P < 0.0001; data are mean and SEM, one-way ANOVA analysis. bleo, bleomycin; 5′aza, 5′azacytidine; Sac, sacrifice).
