Research Paper Volume 16, Issue 5 pp 4631—4653

Figure 5. In vivo study design and pathological observation of mouse skin tissue. (A) Schematic diagram of the whole treatment process for the mice in each group. In brief, the hair on the backs of all the mice was shaved off on Day 0. From Day 1 to Day 8, IMQ was administered to the backs of the mice in Groups 2, 3 and 4. Moreover, the backs of the mice in Group 1 were daubed with Vaseline. From Day 4 to Day 8, the mice in Groups 1 and 2 were injected with saline once every day, and the mice in Groups 3 and 4 were injected with scr-miRNA and the miR-26a-5p mimic, respectively. Tissue samples were collected on Day 9. (B) Representative macroscopic views of the dorsal skin of mice in each group. (C) Statistical analysis of the skin erythema score, scale score, and skin thickness severity index of each group of mice. (D) miR-26a expression in the dermis and epidermis of injected mice and in the normal skin tissue of mice in the Vaseline group. The data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 5). ^***p < 0.001.