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Fig. 3 | Respiratory Research

Fig. 3

From: Bronchial thermoplasty in asthma: an exploratory histopathological evaluation in distinct asthma endotypes/phenotypes

Fig. 3Fig. 3

Proliferative epithelial cells and subepithelial mesenchymal cells in endobronchial biopsies (EBB) obtained before and after BT was assessed by staining with antibodies for Ki67, a nuclear protein that is expressed only in proliferating cells. A Representative microphotographs showing epithelial cells (red arrows) and subepithelial mesenchymal cells (blue arrows) stained positive for Ki67 (brown color). Photographs were captured by Olympus IX83 microscope, using a DS-Ri2 color imaging camera. Right panels show enlargement of the areas in black boxes. B Counting of proliferative cells that stained positive for Ki67 was performed in 3 randomly selected areas on each EBB under the × 200 magnification of the microscope (Nikon Eclipse Ti2 inverted microscope system). Results were expressed as number of Ki67 positive cells per 100 nuclei (%). Upper panels show paired data (from the same patient) before and after BT. In lower panels, horizontal lines in box plots represent median values. Comparisons were made by the Wilcoxon signed rank test. BT bronchial thermoplasty

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