Figure 9

Anti-TGF-β1 antibody treatment of Dp-challenged C57BL/6 and SP-D−/− mice. SP-D−/− mice were treated with an anti TGF-β1 antibody and IgG isotype control to examine whether TGF-β1 was important for sub-epithelial fibrosis. (A): Total TGF-β1 in BALF and active TGF-β1 in lung homogenates. (B): Photomicrographs of lungs stained with Gomori’s trichrome. They were representative of 3 different experiments. Magnification: 100x. Scale bar =200 μm. Dp/IgG: Dp sensitized and Dp challenged mice with IgG treatment. Dp/TGFβAb: Dp sensitized and Dp challenged mice with TGF-β antibody treatment. (C): Subepithelial fibrosis thickness. (D): Collagen production in lungs determined by Sircol collagen assay. (E): Level of IL-13 in lungs determined by ELISA. In these bar graphs (A,C,D and E), data are presented as mean ± SEM obtained from 2 different experiments. 3–5 mice per group were used in each experiment (N = 6-8). Black bars: Dp challenged WT and SP-D−/− mice treated with IgG isotype control. Shaded bars: Dp challenged WT and SP-D−/− mice treated with an anti-TGF-β1 antibody. *p < 0.05 ANOVA with post-hoc Tukeys; †p < 0.05 Student T-test.