Fig. 4

Infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lung of Sod3^+/+ and Sod3^−/− mice treated with silica. a Lung sections (5 μm thick) were stained with antibodies specific for macrophage- and neutrophil-specific marker LY-6B (red) and α-smooth muscle actin (green). Nuclei were stained using DAPI (blue). Images were taken using 20x objective. Representative images from unaffected areas of mouse lung from control (image a) and 0.4 mg/kg silica treated (images b and c) mice. Increased infiltration of inflammatory cells into lung found in silica treated lungs of both Sod3^+/+ and Sod3^−/− mice (panel b). Bar = 200 μm. *p < 0.05 when compared to control lung, One Way ANOVA with Holm-Sidak post test. c Representative images of LY6B positive cells located in close proximity to pulmonary vessels in silicotic nodules. d Quantitative analysis of area in close proximity to pulmonary vessels (green) stained with LY-6B (red) specific antibodies. *p < 0.05, t-test