Figure 7

Histology of lung inflammation. Representative sections of the lungs are shown. Sections are periodic acid-Schiff stained and counterstained with haematoxylin for analysis of mucin-containing cells. Tissue was examined by light microscopy (original magnification 20×), zoomed inset delineates PAS+ epithelial cells (100×). Lung sections were obtained from saline- (A) or OVA- (B, C, D, E, F) challenged mice in the absence (A, B) or presence of MAPK inhibitors: SB 203580 (20 mg/kg) (C), U 0126 (20 mg/kg) (D), SP 600125 (20 mg/kg) (E) or of the combination of U 0126 (5 mg/kg) plus SB 203580 (5 mg/kg) (F). Peribronchial inflammation and the abundance of PAS-positive mucus-containing cells were determined by applying the scores as described in methods (G). The scores described in methods were applied to ten bronchi for each animal and mean and standard deviation were determined for all the animals in a group (n = 5). *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 compared with positive control group.