Fig. 2

Ddah1 deficiency exacerbates long-term PM_2.5 exposure-induced systemic inflammation and lung injury. After 6 months of exposure to PM_2.5, serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) (A), interleukin 6 (IL-6) (B) and ADMA levels (C), as well as the cell numbers in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) (D), were measured, respectively. (E) Representative images of lung sections from FA- or PM_2.5-exposed WT and Ddah1^−/− mice were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E, Scale bar = 200 μm; the blue arrows point to widening of alveolar spaces, the green arrows point to inflammatory cell infiltration, the red arrows point to alveolar structure collapse), Masson’s trichrome stain (Scale bar = 200 μm; the deep red arrows point to collagen deposition), and antibodies specific for αSMA (green) and CD31 (red) (Scale bar = 50 μm). The relative collagenous fiber area (F), full and total muscularized vessels (G, H) and mRNA levels of lung TGF-β were quantified. In Figure A–D and I, N = 5; in Figure F–H, N = 7. Data are presented as the mean ± SD; *indicates p < 0.05, **indicates p < 0.01