Figure 2

AR deficiency decreases mucin levels and mucous cell metaplasia in airway of RWE-challenged mice. (A) RWE-sensitized WT and AR^-/- mice were challenged with RWE and 72 h later the lungs were lavaged with cold PBS. The supernantant was used for the determination of Mucin5A/C using mouse Muc5A/c specific ELISA. The bars represent mean±SD (n = 4) *p = 0.00068 vs. WT Control; **p = 0.00027 vs. WT-RWE. (B) The lungs were harvested, perfused and fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. The sections were stained with PAS stain and observed under light microscope and photomicrographs were acquired. A representative photomicrograph from each group is shown (Magnification 200×) (n = 4). RWE, ragweed pollen extract; WT, wild-type; AR^-/-, aldose reductase null mice.