Research Paper Volume 16, Issue 13 pp 10670—10693

Figure 5. PEDF protected lung tissues from PPE-induced emphysema. (A) Experimental design. A recombinant PEDF protein was injected intraperitoneally twice a week for 4 weeks. PPE (5 units) was intranasally administered 2 weeks after the first dose of PEDF. Mice were analyzed 3 weeks after the PPE treatment. (B) Total RNA was isolated from lung tissues and the expression of Ink4a, Arf, and p21 was analyzed by real-time PCR. Values were normalized to Gapdh in each sample. (C) Representative images of control and PEDF-treated mouse lung sections. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Scale bar, 100 μm. (D) Alveolar mean linear intercepts were measured. (E–H) A pulmonary function test was performed. Lung compliance (E), capacity (F), tissue damping (G), and tissue elastance (H) are shown. Values represent means ± SEM. Data were analyzed by the Student’s t-test (B), or a one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc analysis (D–H). *P <0.05, **P <0.01, and ***P <0.001.