Quantitative analysis of tracheal stenosis.

<p>The percentage of stenosis five days following tracheal scraping was calculated using the following formula: (1 − the area of the mucosal surface lumen (solid line)/the area of the tracheal cartilage lumen (dotted line)) × 100 (<b>a</b>). The animals in which FIR-SeV/ΔF was administered (black) displayed a significantly lower percentage of stenosis than the untreated controls (white) (<b>b</b>). The results are expressed as the mean + SEM (bars). *P < 0.05 using the Mann–Whitney U test.</p

Kaplan–Meier survival curves of rats with tracheal stenosis.

<p>At the start of the study, 10 untreated rats and nine FIR-SeV/ΔF-treated rats were included. A survival analysis was performed using the log-rank test. The FIR-SeV/ΔF-treated animals (solid line) displayed a significantly higher survival rate than the untreated control animals (dotted line) five days following the scraping of the tracheal mucosa. *<i>P</i> < 0.05 using the log-rank test.</p

Representative H&E-stained axial sections of the rat trachea five days following the scraping of the tracheal mucosa.

<p>The untreated controls (tracheal scraping only (n = 10)), (<b>a, c</b>) showed both hyperplasia of the airway epithelium and a thickened submucosal layer with extensive fibrosis, angiogenesis, and collagen deposition causing lumen stenosis. The FIR-SeV/ΔF-treated animals, in which FIR-SeV/ΔF was administered into the tracheal mucosa following tracheal scraping (n = 9), (<b>b, d</b>), showed a reduction in the extent of hyperplasia of the tracheal epithelium. The scale bar in (<b>a, b</b>) and (<b>c, d</b>) indicates 500 μm and 100 μm, respectively.</p