Fig. 2
Nanoparticle exposure increased cell infiltrates and collagen deposits. Representative cross-sectional images of hearts derived from control rats, treated with E171 and ZnO NPs stained with HE A and Masson's Trichrome B. In A, arrows indicate areas with cell infiltrates. The graph shows average number of cells infiltrated in 4 fields of 4 sections of different rats from each group (n = 16). In B, interstitial fibrosis (IF) and perivascular fibrosis (PVF) are shown. Blue color indicates collagen deposits located between cardiac muscle fibers (IF) and perivascular region. The graph shows average integrated optical density (lum/pix2 × 104) of the proportion of collagen deposits in 4 fields (40X) of 4 sections from different hearts of each group (n = 16). Mean ± SD of four rats is shown. * p < 0.05 versus control