Fig. 6
ADMA treatment exacerbates PM2.5-induced systemic inflammation, lung fibrosis, vessel remodeling and cell death. Mice were exposed to PM2.5 (10 mg/kg) with or without ADMA (2 mg/kg) every other day via intratracheal instillation for 2 weeks. A–D Serum TNFα (A), IL-6 (B) and ADMA C levels and mRNA levels of TGF-β and collagen I and III D were measured. E Representative lung sections were stained with H&E (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 kit (the black arrows point to collagen deposition), antibodies specific for αSMA (green) and CD31 (red), and TUNEL kit (red). Scale bar = 50 μm. F–H The relative collagenous fiber area (blue color area), muscularized vessels and TUNEL-positive cells (red point) were quantified. I Lung lysates were examined by Western blot. In Figure. A–D, N = 5; in Figure. F–H, N = 6; in Figure. I, N = 3; data are presented as the mean ± SD; * indicates p < 0.05, ** indicates p < 0.01