Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 13 pp 13400—13421

Figure 9. Nrf2 dependence of the defensive effects of PHC against rI/R-induced acute lung injury in rats. WT and Nrf2^−/− rats were used to model rI/R-induced acute lung injury. (A) To establish the depletion of Nrf2, Western blotting was used to measure nuclear Nrf2 levels in lung homogenates. Histone H3.1 was used as an internal control for nuclear proteins. (B) Lung sections from each investigational group (n = 8) were collected 24 h after rI/R treatment. H&E staining was used for histological assessment, and the apoptotic index (%) was calculated (original magnification 200×, 400×). A scale from 0 to 3 was used to determine the mean lung injury score. Data are presented as the mean ± S.D. (n = 8, Scale bar: 50 μm). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 vs. the sham group. ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01 vs. the rI/R group.