Figure 3

Differentiation of prominin-1⁺ progenitors is stage-specific in bleomycin-challenged mice. Expanded EGFP⁺ prominin-1-positive cells were isolated using magnetic cell sorting and transplanted into C57Bl/6 mice by intratracheal injection 2 hours or 7 days after bleomycin challenge. Some of engrafted EGFP⁺ cells injected 2 hours after bleomycin treatment were SP-C-positive (A), but nearly all were negative for αSMA 7 days after transplantation (B). Instead, EGFP⁺/prominin-1⁺ cells transplanted 7 days after bleomycin treatment (into the lung with ongoing inflammation) and analyzed at day 21 were negative for SP-C (C), rarely positive prominin-1 (D), but some expressed αSMA (E) and F4/80 (F). DAPI visualized cell nuclei. Bars = 20 μm.