Figure 2

Sub-epithelial airway fibrosis in SP-D−/− mice after Dp chronic exposure. (A) Representative photomicrographs of lungs from either wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice or SP-D−/− mice stained with Gomori’s trichrome on day 42 after PBS or Dp challenge. Vertical rows were arranged by group and horizontal rows were results representative of 3 independent experiments. Magnification: 100x. Scale bar = 200 μm. Dp/PBS: Dp sensitized and PBS challenged mice. Dp/Dp: Dp sensitized and Dp challenged mice. (B) Morphological analysis of sub-epithelial fibrosis. (C) Collagen content in the lungs of SP-D−/− mice or C57BL/6 (WT) mice on day 42 after saline or Dp challenge. Subepithelial fibrosis thickness and collagen production was measured as described in Material and Methods. Data are presented as means ± SEM obtained from 3 different experiments. 3–5 mice per group were used in each experiment (N = 10-15). White bars: PBS-challenged mice in each group, Black bar: Dp-challenged WT mice. Shaded bar: Dp-challenged SP-D−/− mice. *p < 0.05.