Figure 2

Effects of adrenomedullin (AM) on production and expression of TNF-α and IL-1β. The evaluation of the lung production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β showed that in samples taken from mice 7 days after bleomycin administration there was a substantial increase in TNF-α (D) and IL-1β (H) formation when compared with sham-operated animals. In contrast, in BLM mice, which had been treated with AM there was a significant inhibition of TNF-α (D) and IL-1β and (H). Immunohistochemical localization of proinflammatory cytokines in lung sections obtained from BLM-treated animals showed positive staining for TNF-α (B) and IL-1β (F); however, in mice treated with AM, the staining for TNF-α (C) and IL-1β (G) was significantly reduced. No positive staining for these cytokines was observed in lung tissues obtained from sham group (A and E, respectively). The figure is representative of at least three experiments performed on different experimental days. Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation from n = 10 mice for each group. *P < 0.01 vs sham, °P < 0.01 vs bleomycin + vehicle.