Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 2 pp 707—723

Figure 1. Murine seminal fluid ameliorates asthmatic features in adult female mice. (A) Schematic representation of experimental design for murine seminal fluid (SF) exposure. Young adult female mice sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) were given murine SF intraperitoneally 30 min before OVA challenge. (B) Age-related functional alteration in murine SF in asthmatic female mice. Numbers of eosinophils (Eos) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of asthmatic female mice exposed to epididymal fluid (EpF) from 2-month-old (2M) or 10-month-old (10M) male mice are shown. White box: control group (n = 3); colored boxes: asthma groups (n = 6–12). Data are presented as means ± SEM. **P < 0.01 and *P < 0.05 versus OVA asthma group. (C) Changes in Th2-cell-driven allergic responses in asthmatic female mice exposed to 10M-seminal vesicle fluid (SVF) or 10M-EpF. Eosinophil number, IL-13 section, and OVA-specific IgE antibody production are shown. White box: control group (n = 3); colored boxes: asthma groups (n = 5 each). Data are presented as means ± SEM. **P < 0.01 and *P < 0.05 versus OVA asthma group. (D) Representative images of airway inflammation and mucus-producing cell hyperplasia in lungs from asthmatic female mice exposed to 10M-SVF or 10M-EpF. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE, upper) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS, lower) staining reveals immune cell infiltration and mucus-producing cell hyperplasia, respectively. AW: airway.