Fig. 7

Levels of TGF-β1 in the BAL (a), levels of collagen (b) and airway reactivity to direct stimulation of MCh (c) measured in the lung of female and male C57BL/6 mice 3 month post repeated exposure to CNC (cumulative dose of 240 μg/mouse). a & c Open columns – control mice, black columns – mice exposed to CNC. Mean ± SEM (n ≥ 5 mice/group). *p < 0.05, vs control PBS-exposed mice, ^# p < 0.05, vs male mice exposed to CNC. b Black columns – female mice exposed to CNC, open columns – male mice exposed to CNC. Mean absolute values of collagen in the lung of PBS-exposed control male and female mice were not significantly different (36.02 ± 1.90 μg/mg lung and 32.20 ± 1.50 μg/mg lung, respectively). Mean ± SEM (n = 10 mice/group). *p < 0.05, vs control PBS-exposed mice, ^# p < 0.05, vs male mice exposed to CNC