COVID-19 Research Paper Volume 14, Issue 3 pp 1110—1127

Figure 6. DHA reduced collagen deposition in pulmonary fibrosis tissues and inhibited the expression of Tgfb1, Jak2, and Stat3 mRNA in lung tissues. The rats were sacrificed at 28 days after bleomycin injection, with or without DHA treatment, their lungs were removed and blood collected. (A) Representative images of Masson staining of bleomycin-treated rat lungs, with and without DHA treatment. (B) Evaluation of pulmonary fibrosis using the Ashcroft score (n = 6). (C) Determination of hydroxyproline in lung tissue (n = 6). (D) Tgfb1, (E) Jak2, and (F) Stat3 mRNA levels in lung tissues were determined using qRT-PCR (n = 6), data are expressed as fold change in mRNA expression normalized to Gapdh expression, with respect to the control group. ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.001. Abbreviations: BLM: bleomycin; DHA-1: dihydroartemisinin 25 mg/kg/d; DHA-2: dihydroartemisinin 50 mg/kg/d; DHA-3: dihydroartemisinin 100 mg/kg/d; NS: not statistically significant; qRT-PCR: quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR.